Shangri-la

When you think of Shangri-La you think of a place of unparalleled beauty, up in the mountains of the Himalayas, where people live to several hundred years.  It is a mystical, harmonious valley, a happy land isolated from the rest of the world.  This is the image that James Hilton painted, who then came up with the idea of Shangri-la in his book Lost Horizons.

The Shangri-La City that we visited in northwestern Yunnan Province was named after the fictional city in the book in 2001.  It was formerly known as Zhongdian, and was renamed to promote tourism in the area.  

Our van drove from Dali through scenic mountain roads to Shangri-la in about 4 hours.  About halfway we stopped at a rest stop to use the restroom.  We checked into a modern-looking Holiday Inn where we'll spend 2 nights.

A rest stop on the highway

Our guide Sophia met us in the morning at the hotel.  In later conversations with Sophia I learned that she is of Tibetan background.  She learned English on her own so that she can become an English-speaking tour guide.  Employment opportunities are better if you speak a foreign language.  

The first place we visited that morning was the Songzanlin Monastery, one of the most important temple/monastery in Shangri-la.  It was inspired by the Potala Palace in Lahsa and is sometimes referred to as the Little Potala.  About 200 monks reside in 200 associated houses.  The monastery is perched high up on a hill.  It is quite a climb to walk up there but there are shuttle buses to take us up there for 10 yuan or about $1.50.  It was worth the price because it'd have been quite a climb at this altitude (3,380m or 11,090ft) and would take us about 30 minutes to walk up.

Our guide, Sophia (middle), and the tour group

3 buildings that make up the Songzanlin Monastery

Entrance to the monastery 

Inside the monastery

Sophia explained the meaning of the three buildings.  We were given time to explore and climbed up to the top of the buildings.

Gold figurines on the roof

View from the roof

One significant feature of Tibetan Buddhism is the prayer wheel.  I also saw that in Bhutan and Tibet.

Prayer Wheels

A long walk up

Another part of the monastery

After the monastery Sophia took us to the home of a Tibetan family.  It is a big house and all family members live in the house.  She explained the different use for different parts of the house.  The heat generated by the cooking is heating for the house in the winter.  She also explained what they eat for breakfast before they go out to work on the land.  Barley is a big part of their diet and provides the nutrition they need.

Fireplace and kitchen

Another part of the living room

Part of the kitchen

The Courtyard

What they eat. The bowl on top left is barley powder

The Matriarch

In the afternoon we were taken to Pudacuo National Park, also known as Potatson National Park.  It is the first natural reserve park in China.  We took a short hike around Bita lake and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery.

View of the lake

Boardwalk for hiking

Description of the area

A white yak

Clean toilets

Boat rides are available

Clean vacuum toilets

A launchpad for drones

Our last stop for the day is Dukezong Ancient Town, which is 1,300 years old.  It is the best preserved and largest Tibetan cluster in China.  The name "Dukezong" means "Moonlight Castle built on a Stone" and it is also known as the City of Moonlight.  We walked through the streets with many of the shops selling either souvenirs or food.

Thangka Institution

I came across an entrance that said "Shangri-la Thangka Institution."  A Thangka painting is a Tibetan Buddhist painting usually depicting a Buddhist scene, deity or mandala (a geometric configuration of symbols).  They are used as teaching tools about the life of Buddha.  One of the most extensive collection of Thangka is in the Mogao Caves near the town of Dunhuang on the Silk Road in western China.  I was fortunate to visit the caves in 2014 and saw the paintings in many of the caves.

To end our day we had dinner at the Ancient Town.  My travel companions had a craving for western food and found a Pizza Hut in the square.  I had no choice but to be part of this dinner.

Pizza in Shangri-la

It had been a long day and we were glad to be back at the hotel.  When traveling it's always a challenge to either find a place to do your laundry, do your own or if you are lucky enough, the hotel has laundry machines.  This particular Holiday Inn in Shangri-la had two washing machines and two dryers and no one was using them.  I happily washed my dirty laundry and was set for the next few days.

I can finally say I have been to Shangri-la.  Although it's not the peaceful, tranquil place that I envisioned it is still a beautiful city.  The mix of Tibetan and Han Chinese demographic makes the place an interesting cultural crossroad.  The name Shangri-la definitely attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world.

A group of tourists dressed as locals

One surprising thing I saw while out looking for dinner the first night is a truck selling only durians.  Having grown up in Southeast Asia where durians is a common fruit and not well-liked by others, this was a surprising sight.  But I read that China has been obsessed with durians the last few years.

A durian vendor