The Mengle Dafosi — the Mengle Grand Buddha Temple — sits on a hill overlooking the south side of Jinghong, a vast modern Theravada complex completed in 2005. Whether you like it or not depends on your tolerance for new-build religious architecture: it is enormous, gilded, and decidedly tourist-aware, with a 49-metre standing Buddha visible from across the city. The compound includes a working monastery, a museum of Dai Buddhism, and a series of viewing terraces.
If you climb to the top platform at sunset, the view over Jinghong, the Lancang River, and the surrounding forested hills is one of the best in town. The temple is around fifteen minutes by taxi from the centre, or a steep half-hour walk up.