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About Shangri-La
Shangri-La (香格里拉, xiāng gé lǐ lā) 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.
It was formerly called Zhongdian. Zhongdian was renamed Shangri-La for marketing reasons.
Population: 174,585, Area: 11,613 square kilometers, Nationalities: Tibetan, Han, Naxi, Yi, Altitude: 3,300 meters above sea level.
We visited Shangri-La in April 2014. A big part of the “old town” burnt down on January 11, 2014. It is in the process of being reconstructed. Many of the previous establishments in the old town have been relocated, rebuilt, or completely replaced.
Being the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, Songzanlin Monastery, also known as Guihua Monastery, is one of the famous monasteries in the Kang region. It is located near Shangri -La County, at the foot of Foping Mountain, five kilometers north of the county.
Construction of the monastery began in 1679 and was completed two years later. The monastery seems like a group of ancient castles and is composed of two lamaseries, Zhacang and Jikang. The gilded copper roof endows the monastery with strong Tibetan features and the 108 (an auspicious number in Buddhism) columns downstairs also feature the it with characteristics of Han nationality. The main halls in the monastery are magnificent, and on both the left and right sides are wonderful frescos, depicting Buddhist tales and legends. The inside-halls are exquisite with cloisters running through. The cloisters are all decorated with beautiful sculptures and consummate frescos.
The monastery is full of treasures. There are a lot of golden figures of Buddha josses, golden lamps, Tibetan lections, silver censers and so on. All of these are wonderful collections accumulated from each dynasty. They are precious productions made by people of both Tibet nationality and Han nationality.
Songzanlin Monastery has another alias – ‘the little Potala Palace ‘, so named because the whole monastery is in the traditional style with mysterious atmosphere. In 1679, Dalailama chose this place by divination, and it went on to become the uppermost public place in Yunnan which features the particular local characteristics. Annually, the Gedong Festival is celebrated here by the Tibetans. Pious believers, with their knees and foreheads knocking the ground at every step, come here to pray.
The monastery is situated in the high-altitude region over 3,300 meters high. It snows even in August and has a rainy season that runs from June through September. Therefore, spring and summer are the best seasons for people to visit it.
About 22km southwest and 40 minutes’ drive from Shangri-la downtown area, Potatso National Park covers an area of 300 square kilometers and ranges from 3,500 yards to 4,160 meters high. It is renowned for well-preserved primitive landscape, which is endowed with lakes, wetlands, forests, meadows, streams, brooks, rare plants and animals. Meanwhile, Tibetan culture and custom are also component parts of the park.
As the first national park on the Chinese mainland, Potatso was open to visitors in 2007. In the park, there are three main scenic areas open to visitors: Bita Lake in the south, Shudu Lake which is a part of Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area in the north and Militang Alpine Pasture in the middle. The sightseeing buses run among these scenic spots and stop at fixed stations. Passengers can get on and off freely with one ticket. As Bita Lake is a sacred place and Tibetan Buddhists walk around it clockwise for good luck, visitors are advised to sightsee clockwise too, in an order of Shudu Lake, Militang, and Bita Lake. Travel route in the park is about 69 kilometers and it takes about 4 – 6 hours to cover all the spots.
Shudu Lake and Bitahai Lake are two of the more accessible lakes in northeast of the city. Located within 10 kilometers of each other, legend says these “pearls of the land” are pieces of a mirror broken and scattered by a fairy while she was fixing her makeup.
As the highest lake in Yunnan Province, Bitahai Lake lies in the east of Shangri-La County of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is one of the core spots in Potatso National Park with an altitude over 3600 meters above sea level. Covering an area of about 159 hectares with an average depth of 20 meters, it is famous for its limpid water and its beautiful scenery which is set against the mountains and forests surrounding it.
Bitahai Lake is widely recognized as ‘A Pearl on the Plateau’ and the most attractive lake in Shangri-La. Legend has it that a goddess dropped her mirror carelessly to the earth when she was making up. The mirror was broken into pieces and they became lakes on the plateau. Among these pieces, the most beautiful piece with green jade turned into today’s Bitahai Lake.
In the center of the lake stands an islet shaped like a boat sailing on the water surface. The islet is 30 meters above the water level and is covered with rare plants and also includes spruces and rhododendrons. Here, birds twitter happily, and flowers release their pleasant fragrances. When stepping on the islet, one feels as if they are arriving at Xanadu, and visitors have frequently remarked about how they have felt intoxicated by the aura, beauty and tranquility.
Bitahai Lake is fringed with rhododendrons of various varieties, which adds to its beauty. Every year around June and July, petals of the rhododendrons fall onto the water surface with the wind. When passing fish eat these rhododendron petals (which are slightly poisonous) they can be seen on their backs with their white bellies exposed as they float upside-down amongst the petals as if they are drunk. It is now the best-known sight of Bitahai Lake. It is also said that in the past bears in the nearby mountains often came out in the moonlight to catch these intoxicated fish.
Bitahai Lake is a place of legends. When visiting it, one can find that even a tree or a hill has a story. It is not only a feast to the eye, but also enhances our sense of beauty and our imagination.
Shudu Lake. It is about 20 minutes’ ride from the sightseeing bus stop near the park entrance. Reputed as a pearl in plateau, Shudu Lake is 3,700 meters above the sea level. The lake is crystal clear, with wild ducks paddling in group. There was a rare kind of fish species called Liefu Fish (fish with cracks on their bellies) living inside; but now visitors can barely see them due to damage to local eco-system. Along the shore, flocks of cattle and sheep wander freely. The lake is surrounded by rolling hills covered with forest. The primitive forest seems to be a verdant protective screen, where many rare animals inhabit, such as musk deer, bears, leopards, golden cats, tufted deer and eared pheasant.
Militang Alpine Pasture is the largest pasture in Potatso National Park, about 5 miles and 10 minutes’ drive from Shudu Lake. Under the azure sky dotted with clouds, the grassland is like a giant green carpet paved on the ground, with yaks and sheep scattered around and smoke from herdsmen’s chimneys drifting in the breeze. In spring and summer, a number of flowers are blossoming, which decorates the grassland into a colorful picture. In autumn, the land will be carpeted by spruce, azalea bosk, quercus, aquifolioides and redwoods. Wild mushrooms can be seen everywhere. It looks golden overall, tranquil and elegant. In winter, the land will turn into a tranquil white paradise.