Name
The city is named after the Shweli River. 瑞 ruì means "auspicious", and 丽 lì means "beautiful". An older name of Ruili is Mengmao (勐卯), derived from the Tai Nuea language "Mong Mao" (ᥝᥥᥒᥰ ᥛᥫᥒᥰ), meaning "foggy place".
Geography and climate
Ruili is on the border with Myanmar. 64% of the population of Ruili are members of five highland and lowland ethnic minorities, including Dai, Jingpo, Deang, Lisu, and Achang. It is an important location for trade with Myanmar, in both legal and illegal goods and services. Prostitution and drug trade in the city are not uncommon.
Ruili has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), and is generally humid. Summer is long and there is virtually no "winter" as such. Instead, there is a dry season (December through April) and wet season (May through October). A drier heat prevails from February till early May before the onset of the monsoon from the Indian Ocean. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 14.0 °C (57.2 °F) in January to 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in June, while the annual mean is 21.0 °C (69.8 °F). …
Economy
Dehong is one of the three primary coffee cultivating regions in Yunnan. The main coffee planter and processor is Hogood Coffee, which operates a contracting scheme with local farmers. Hogood contracts farmland from smallholders, on which it plants seedlings, and then re-contracts with farmers to purchase the coffee beans at harvest.
Because of its position near the border with Myanmar, Ruili is an important hub of cross-border trade, including the new oil and gas pipeline coming up from Kyaukphyu, which is being expanded as part of the Belt and Road Initiative's Maritime Silk Road.
Transportation
The Dali–Ruili Railway, which will connect Ruili with China's national railway network, is under construction.
A feasibility study for a standard gauge line from Kunming, China to Kyaukphyu port started in 2021.
