@matjaz
this post is a bit old but might give you some basic info...
www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/155/ruili_yunnans_wild_west

thanks scally, i already read it :)

If you visit Dehong, I recommend you visit some of the minority villages - Deang, Jingpo, Achang.

www.hugoyunnantravel.com/des_dehong.asp?page=3

I never been to Ruili city. please share the information.......

I live in Ruili right now.

The main function of the city itself is a trade point between Myanmar and China. It has a lot of hotels, but as for recommendations I don't really have many.

Ruili the town mostly has a lot of jade, food, and clothing stores, but is a cool smaller city with a kind of busy night life with some (Chinese style) clubs and a LOT of arcades in various stages of decay. It seems fairly safe to me so far. Burmese workers here speak a fair amount of English, and though they are kind of pushy seem generally nice. I wouldn't recommend buying any jade without doing a lot of research or knowing someone who does, though.

Jiegao is the special economic zone across the river. You can find more jade stores, a duty free shop for cigarettes and such, and a lot of toy and other shops. If you go along the fence, you can see Myanmar locals hopping over illegally, and sneak through the fence for a border shot if you're feeling particularly headstrong. Just don't get caught. Chinese and Burmese can cross easily, but anyone else needs a permit and a guide to cross the border.

Red taxis that drive around all through Jiegao and Ruili will take you across the river to the other city for 5 yuan, but won't head there until they've picked up other folks. Also, they won't pick you up without a specific destination(Jiegao is not enough). Regular taxis charge 10 yuan from any of the bus stations to as far as S321, but you need to agree on a price before you leave. Anywhere farther is at least 15.

There is a cool park next to the river that most locals say is their favorite place to go. They also have some great kebab places there, and it's a nice place to spend the day. Next to it is a Dai village center, where the Dai people have gatherings on a semi-regular basis. They had a stage set up and were dancing for the Water Splashing Festival, which is probably the best time to visit this city.

I hope that's enough. Drop me an email if you have any other specific questions and I'll do my best.

Cheers!

<deleted 2nd post>

"Chinese and Burmese can cross easily, but anyone else needs a permit and a guide to cross the border."

Not quite true. Only Burmese can cross easily, but they are only allowed to travel to Jiegao, not even Ruili. At least officially that is.

Chinese can't easily travel to Muse, because the Chinese government doesn't allow them to exit for Myanmar without a visa in their passports, even if they don't want to travel further than the special economic zone.

My Chinese boss had to cross illegally into Muse to meet me there - there was no other way she would have been able to cross - Chinese officials refused her exit as even though she has a passport, she didn't have a visa.

It does seem that a permit is required to cross the border into Myanmar (but not to travel the road south of Muse as I did that in April with no permit), but according to Myanmar immigration, there are conflicting reports that suggest a permit is required to leave Myanmar for China here but none is required in the opposite direction. I also believe the rules were simplified as of July 1st, but this is a rumor so there are no guarantees this has actually happened.

I was in Muse in April and suprised about the lack of Chinese people in Muse and general lack of Chinese vehicles there. Unlike in Laos, in Myanmar even near the border the Chinese influence isn't nearly as strong as I expected - Burmese language was far more commonly seen on signs than Chinese and the few Chinese vehicles in town were practically all registered in Ruili 云N with no travel outside the special economic zone allowed - unlike in Laos where foreign registered vehicles including Chinese vehicles are allowed to travel wherever they want.

How long does it take to travel to Ruili?
How far does the train go now?

Ruili is experiencing another spike in cases (15). City entrance and exit have been restricted for those without special permission.

That "spike" in Ruili is now up to 38.

Restrictions remain in place.