Shangri – La Travel Guide

Destination overview Destination sketch Shangri-La is the “Eden in dream”. Since it first appeared in British novelist James Hilton’s Lost Horizon in the 1939, it has been associated with the mystique of a place which could not possibly exist here […]

Destination overview

Destination sketch

Shangri-La is the “Eden in dream”. Since it first appeared in British novelist James Hilton’s Lost Horizon in the 1939, it has been associated with the mystique of a place which could not possibly exist here on Earth. In Tibetan,Shangri-La means the “sun and moon in heart”, an ideal home only found in heaven.There the lofty and continuous snowy mountains, endless grasslands, steep and grand gorges, azure lakes and the bucolic villages always leave a deep impression on visitors. As a Chinese saying goes, “The earliest sunrise is seen in Shangri-La; and the most unique place is also there”. Once you visit, you will fully appreciate the meaning of this saying. In addition, the warm welcome of the residents of this land will make you feel at home.

Best travel season

The best time to visit Shangri-La is March to August. During this period, the weather is favorable and the wild flowers are in bloom here and there. September or October is also a favorable month. This is fall harvest time and the entire plateau becomes a golden world.

Intercity traffic

Aircraft

There are daily flights to Shangrila (the airport’s name is Diqing, DIG IATA) from Kunming, Lhasa and Chongqing.

Long distance bus

Lijiang to Shangrila – these days a fast 4 hours. There are currently road works so expect possible delays until the new express way opens.
Dali to Shangrila is a 6-hour drive – both night and day buses do this run.
Kunming to Shangrila is a 12-hour drive – also serviced by both night and day buses.
Panzhihua to Shangrila takes 12 hours, passing through Lijiang. There seems to be one bus per day, leaving at 17:00. Cost is around ¥140.
Deqin to Shangrila is a windy 4-hour drive (April 2017) it used to be much longer but the road condition is great now. The town of Benzilan, which lies about midway is worth stopping off at in its own right, and breaks the journey up nicely.

Attractions

Songzanlin Monastery

Songzanlin is the largest Tibetan Buddhism monastery in Yunnan Province. Covering an area of 30 hectares, it looks like a mini Kumbum (Ta Er) Monastery. It is located on a mountain slope 5km from the county town of Shangri-La.

Since the 5th Dalai Lama chose the site through divination in 1679, the monastery has grown into the most important community of its kind in Yunnan. Naturally, throughout its history spanning 325 years there have been ups and downs – the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), for instance, saw the lamasery almost completely destroyed – but the strong faith of the people in Shangri-La has always prevailed, and today Songzanlin once again houses more than 700 monks and lamas.

Dukezong Ancient Town

Dukezong, a Tibetan town located in Shangri-La, offers sanctuary to all those seeking refuge from the busy city life.

The authentic Tibetan dwellings in Dukezong, gilded prayer halls and pagodas, and lanterns of various shapes lighting the way along narrow, winding lanes are permeated with the grace as well as the mystique of antiquity that enchants visitors the moment they set foot in it. Dukezong was a key stop on the Ancient Tea-horse Road and a focal point for Han-Tibetan exchanges. It is the largest and best-preserved Tibetan city among China 147 Tibetan counties. It is also site of the largest ancient Tibetan community. There was human life in Shangri-La at the Paleolithic Age, and a tribal society inhabited it during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 BC). It was in the 7th century that the Tubo Regime conquered Deqin, and then built Dukezong. As one of the oldest towns in the region, it is also known as the ‘footstep of Shangri-La’. According to Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, there is a lost city called Shambhala in the Snow Mountains, shaped like an eight-petal lotus flower. The 1.6-square-kilometer Dukezong Town is also laid out in this design. All 1,084 of its houses radiate out from Turtle Hill at the center, arranged in conformity with Tibetan Buddhist geomantic theory.

Meili Snow Mountain

Meili Snow Mountain towers over the landscape in the west of Deqin County (Shangri-la) in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Also known as ‘Prince Snow Mountain’, it is the most sacred mountain the in the world. Meili Mountain has long been famous for Kang Karpo Peak, Yunnan’s tallest mountain – 6,740m above sea level. Among one of the eight sacred mountains the Tibetans worship, it looks like gilded when the sun rises. There are 13 lesser peaks around it, each more than 6,000m above sea level.

Legend has it that Kang Karpo Peak is the incarnation of a Tibetan God who helped the local people drive the evil spirit away. The mountain’s name means white snow mountain in the Tibetan language and it is named after a patron saint in Tibetan Buddhism. It’s said Kang Karpo often rode a white horse with a sword in his hand. His majestic appearance was similar to that of the peak. It is said that reaching the top of the Potala Palace, you would see the profile of Kang Karpo through the colorful clouds. Every year from the end of autumn to the start of winter, thousands of Tibetan pilgrims walk to pay their homage to Kang Karpo.

Balagezong Scenic Spot

Shangri-la Grand Canyon. Balagezong Ecotourism Scenic area is located in the northwest of Shangri-la county, it is one of the core scenic area of “three parallel rivers”, the world natural heritage Red Mountain area, 50 kilometers away from the county, 55 kilometers away from the Shangri-la airport, 700 kilometers from the provincial capital of Kunming. Ii is located in Yunnan Sichuan and Tibet junction, with a total area of 176 square kilometers. The Balagezong Snow Mountain is the highest peak of Shangri-la county, at an altitude of 5545 meters; its lowest point is in the south, at an altitude of 2000 meters, the relative elevation is 3545 meters.

Baima Snow Mountain

In the western Yunnan alpine gravel slopes are little evergreen plants, but there are still lush rhododendron forests. At an altitude of 2600 to 4200 meters mountain, the alpine rhododendron grows quietly bloom here year after year. Their meaning of life as if bloom beautiful flowers. From the point of biological, they are plants living in groups. They grow together, bloom together in spring and summer forming pieces of intoxicating “flowers” wonders.

Western Yunnan alpine rhododendron forest is rich in rhododendron plant species, with dense rhododendron, rhododendron clementinae and so on more than 200 kinds. The color of the azaleas in full bloom season, numerous and complicated color decorated the mountains to magnificent brilliant beauty.

Mingyong Glacie

Mingyong glacier is on the mountainside of Kawagebo, the major and highest peak of Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin County of Diqing Prefecture in Northwest Yunnan, and there are cirque and glaciers everywhere. The glacier winds it way down the mountain and stretches as long as the place of 11.7 kilometers with an altitude of 2,660 meters above the sea level, the average width is 500 meters and melting at 0.232 billion cubic meters annually. Under Kawagebo, the distance between Mingyong glacier and Lancang River is only 800 meters, which is the monsoon oceanic modern glacier in a lower latitude and elevation in the world. When you enjoy the beautiful scenery of Meili Snow Mountain in Feilai Temple, you can also enjoy Mingyong glacier next to Kawagebo, the major peak of Meili Snow Mountain.

Haba Snow Mountain

Haba Snow Mountain is a mountain rising above the Mt. Everest due to Himalaya orogeny located in the southeast of Shangri-La. “Haba” means golden flower in Naxi language. Legend has it that Haba Snow Mountain and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is two brothers, the Jinsha River is flowing between them, thus forming the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Blue Moon Valley

Blue Moon Valley scenic area, also called Shika Snow Mountain area, is located in the southwestern Shangri-La (Zhongdian), about 7km away from Shangril-La county with about 15 min driving. Cable in this attraction has began to serve since 2006. With a 4,190-meter-long, this cable is the longest one in Yunnan Province. People can get to the peak (4,000 meters above the sea level) from the foot of the mountain (3,270 meters above the sea level). When standing on the peak, people can have a view of Meili Snow Mountain, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, as well as snow mountains in Daocheng, Sichuan.

White Water Terrace

White Water Terrace was called “Shi Bu Zhi” which means growing flower, and White Water Terrace has the laudatory title of “immortal left field”. Going close to White Water Terrace, you will see tier upon tier White Water Terrace folded, like titled moon scattered in the world, also like a silver ornament of Naxi girls, folded as countless silver ring, the faint afterglow of silverlight gives a person a fresh feeling. The left of White Water Terrace likes a crescent moon spring, and it is said that where is the place for fairy to dress and make up. Under the bottom left of White Water Terrace is a stone arcade, white as jade, shaped like a pregnant woman, it is a place where local people enshrined reproductive god. White Water Terrace is not only a beautiful place, it is the birthplace of the Naxi Dongbaism, the place for religious activities and ethnic festivals.

Napahai Natural Reserve

Napahai Natural Lake Reserve is 3,270m above sea level and covers 660 square kilometers. It is about 8km northwest of Shangri-La town in Yunnan Province. It is both an ideal field for herdsmen and a paradise for many species of birds. This is, in the true sense, a seasonal lake. When summer comes, snow on the adjacent mountains melts and flows down into about ten rivers forming a vast lake. In the dry season, Napahai becomes a boundless green grassland – the best time for herding sheep cattle. Every Steptember the lake again turns into a temporary habitat for migratory birds, such as bar-headed geese, wild ducks and black-necked cranes which is one of the 12 rarest bir

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Naturally divided into three sections, the first section, which is the narrowest and uppermost section, is the mouth of the fast flowing Jingsha River. In the midst of the river’s mouth is a large rock that is positioned at the gorge’s narrowest section-only 30 meters (33 yards) wide. The altitude of the mouth of the Tiger Leaping Gorge is 1,800m (984 fathoms).
An ancient legend says that a tiger used this rock as its stepping stone so it could leap across from one side of the gorge to the other, which is how the place got its name.

As the river enters the middle section, it drops another 100 meters (330 feet) and its flow rate increases to an amazing speed. Here the thunderous rushing waters slam into sharp, large rocks and crash down into the river forming swirling whirlpools. Can it get more exciting? Yes, it can as the third and lowest section is acclaimed for being the wildest attraction of all!

The cliffs over-looking this section are even steeper and much more dangerous. Here, the river twists and turns and the river vigorously surges forward creating high waves and a frothy spew as it collides with the mountainsides. This is a view that inspires a sense of adventure and satisfies the deepest yearnings for magnificent scenery.

Food

Shangri-La’s population is composed largely of Tibetans together with many ethnic minorities. This provides the opportunity to be immersed in beautiful scenery while tasting local food and drinks Tibetan Cake (sweet and crisp), Zanba, Pipa Meat, Saimi Lamb, Guoben Hot Pot, butter tea, yogurt, and Suolima (a kind of Tibetan Liquor brewed with the highland barley) are amongst the most popular. Zanba is the Tibetans’ staple food, made from highland barley flour. Usually, the locals like to eat Zanba with buttered tea. Buttered tea is high in energy providing sustenance from the cold plateau climate. Pipa Meat, a non-greasy preserved form of pork is a delicious food usually kept for entertaining guests.

Accommodation

Several budget guesthouses can be found in the old part of town, prices for a double should be in the region of ¥50 per night (low season). Heating is not provided even in the winter months, but additional blankets are happily provided and electric blankets are common.

Shopping

The city is famous for Tibetan jewelry, yak tails, Nixi pottery, Yi lacquerware, Dried matsutake mushroom and Tibetan medicinal herbs. Very good Tibetan incense. For shopping the new town is better than the old, cheaper prices. There is no problem to find an ATM (one near the “entrance” of the old district).