Blogs from Shangri-La, Yunnan, China, Asia
The Yunnan and Tibetan border. Shangri-La, China
Published: May 19th 2012Asia » China » Yunnan » Shangri-La
May 19th 2012
So after one day in Lijiang, we took a van ride that took all day. I was originally told it was going to be 2 hours, then 5, then because we stopped for lunch and stuff it took 7 hours. So my whole day was pretty much in a van on dirt roads because there are no highways to Shangri-La, but they are being built as we speak. The lunch wasn't too bad though. We met up with our tour guide and then went to his house for lunch. It was pretty much all Yak. There was Yak cheese, yogurt, meat, and butter tea. Liking 50% isnt too bad. I liked the meat and cheese. We also ate steamed buns, potatoes that were like scalloped potatoes minus the cheese, and tried this powder stuff that just ... read more
March 18th 2012
In this area, we have learned much about China and China’s relationship with the Tibetans. The town is part of the “Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture”, located right next door to Tibet. Our guide, an ethnic Tibetan and a Buddhist, gave us a great deal of information about Tibetan Buddhism and some knowledge about then history and politics of the area. Needless to say, he was careful. Shangri La town used to be called Zhongdian, but the government changed the name to Shangri La in 2002, hoping to attract tourists looking for the mystical place described in James Hilton’s Lost Horizon. We drove here from Lijiang, over mountains and past rivers and lakes and pastures where yaks are still grazing before heading for the higher meadows this summer. The city is definitely ready to receive tourists, as they ... read more
March 16th 2012
We’re in Shangri La! No, really – this is the town that might have been the venue for James Hilton’s book, Lost Horizons. Though the town was originally named Zhongdian, canny investors and local officials changed the name to Shangri La to attract tourists – and they’ve been successful. We’re here during the off season, as the low temps at night are about 32 degrees F, but the town has about 500 hotels. It also has an ancient section, which we hope to see tomorrow. More about Shangri La in the next post! Geography lesson: the province of Yunnan is in the southwestern corner of China and has borders with Laos, Vietnam and Burma/Myanmar. It’s at a fairly high elevation, 5000 feet and above, so the weather is spring-like – just like we SHOULD be having ... read more
November 28th 2011
Shangrila. Robie tu sobie dluzszy odpoczynek – pelne 7 dni i nocy. Za dnia pije kawe, wygrzewam sie w ostrym sloncu, jezdze rowerem albo laze bez celu po uliczkach, nocami zas zagrzebuje sie w poscieli, bo jest wsciekle zimno, a w pokoju nie ma ogrzewania. Znaczy sie jest- podgrzewany materac w wyrku. Kilka dni temu Tom, Piter, Jacek i Edyta polecieli sobie stad do Guangzhou, a dalej juz do domu. Kwestie koziego sera, kiszoncow i chleba pomine milczeniem, niech pozostanie ona domena ich sumienia... ;-) Jesli kogos z nich ruszy – moze jeszcze przysla paczke? Z Tomem i Piterem spotkalismy sie 14 listopada w Guilin. Wyszli z dworca kolejowego zaraz po tym, jak przeszedl policjant z psem podpisanym na kubraczku: POLICE DOG. (nie, zaden wilczur, zwykly ciapek). Wykupilismy transport do Yangshuo – autobusem, potem tratwa, potem ... read more
Shangri-la - It's all about the Yak.
Published: September 12th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Shangri-La
September 5th 2011
Shangri-la (and Lijiang) – An unexpected diversion but an insight of what is to come in Tibet. Because the heavy rain meant we were unable to trek the Tiger leaping gorge it was a quick impulse decision between myself, Steffi and Bianca to head to Shangri-la for a couple of days to experience the Tibetan culture and undertake a bit of exploration and trekking. The roads leading from Lijiang to Shangri-la are very much under construction, which is a similar story to the rest of China with large scale development everywhere you go. It’s very difficult to describe the roads but basically they are a cross between mud and rocks, when wet it’s like driving through a shallow stream and when it’s dry it is like going through a sand storm. Two hours of these roads ... read more
June 11th 2011
It’s been almost three weeks now since I stepped into the cobbled streets of Shangri’la’s old town and since that moment, I’ve completely and hopelessly fallen in love with this place. Now; I really feel and can really understand why people love to travel- it’s not just so you can go to some destination and eat food and take a picture; it’s truly about the people that you meet and the experiences you have of being welcomed into a brand new community with different cultures and customs. I can’t even begin to contemplate where I should begin my reflections; the amount of knowledge and experiences I’ve accumulated in these short three weeks is enough to last a lifetime. I’ve made many new friends here, friends I will hold closely in my heart for a long ... read more
May 31st 2011
I am not sure whether it should be Shangrila, Zhongdian or Diqing, i think they are all the same. This place is culturally Tibetans but politically Chinese, the locals speak mostly Tibetans among themselves and Mandarin to the tourists. We flew to Diqing from Kunming by Eastern China Air, ~1 hour flight from Kunming Wujiaba airport. Shangrila was surprisingly cold. We didn't know it would be so cold in late April. Ground temperature was 2ºC. We were approached by a group of taxi drivers and tourist touts as we came out from the airport. We eventually decided to hire a car to take us around Diqing. Our little hotel is named Happy Garden Hotel, we booked online. It's located somewhere close to the Museum and the Big Temple. The hotel location is central and it's also ... read more
Ninong Village, Feilaisi, and Back to Shangrila
Published: February 17th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Shangri-La
February 6th 2011
In the morning, Si Tu and I set off to exit the village in a different direction from the one we entered in. We hiked through a gorge ot Ninong village. The scenery changed from high alpine to dusty desert mountains with a bright blue river in the valley. Next to our path was a trench of flowing water that goes all the way to provide the people of Ninong with water. Whereas Yubeng's houses were wooden, many of the houses in this arid treeless climate were made of mud bricks. We stopped in Ninong to buy some drinks (there is orange soda in the middle of nowhere!) and the store owner invited us in to sit, chat, and eat New Years snacks. It was quite a long walk to Xidang where we would be able ... read more
January 8th 2011
Shangri-la is a fictional place; an isolated, utopian paradise in the Himalayas featured in James Hilton’s famous 1933 novel “Lost Horizon”. Sometime around 2001, China decided to capitalize on the tourism boom in Yunnan province (mostly centred around Dali and Lijiang) by claiming that the nearby city of Zhongdian was in-fact the place that inspired Hilton’s novel. They even went as far as changing the name of the city to Shangri-la. And that’s how fiction becomes reality. In reality, the Chinese Shangri-la is very similar to other tourist destinations in Yunnan except with a Tibetan theme. It has the “old” town/new town relationship and a couple of “x-largest” items to add to China’s long list of superlatives. The Ganden Sumtseling Gompa or Songzanlin Monastery is the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan and is supposedly modeled after ... read more
Riding on the longest cable car in Asia
Published: November 7th 2010Asia » China » Yunnan » Shangri-La
November 6th 2010
The main attraction on the 2 day tour to Shangri-La is Shikar Snowy Mountain 石卡雪山, 4500m elevation. Here’s the longest cable car in Asia, a total of 2kms. The cable car was a bit scary, built against the wall of the mountain. Looking out from the other side of the cable car, it’s easily 50-100m higher than the valley below. The wind was starting to gather speed. Remembering what the cable car girl said at the bottom station, if it became windy or snowy, they might stop the cable car until it’s settled down, I started to worry about the success of the cable car ride. However, one side of the mountain distracted me - it’s a sea of azalea trees. Many trees had azalea in blossom, different shades of pink jumping out of the green ... read more
