Blogs from Zhongdian, Yunnan, China, Asia
July 10th 2011
Shangri La (Zhongdian) maybe Diqing Who knows where we really are. The town’s name was changed to Shangri La in 2001 to try and tap into the tourist trade. Anyway we are a long way from anywhere on a plateau, snuggled between mountains on the border with Tibet. The Tibetan influence is very strong here though it is obvious who is in charge and it stems from Beijing. A massive amount of money is being spent. To increase the Chinese tourist trade and appease the locals. We are staying in the old town which has the echoes of culture and tradition slowly being eroded by modernization. Traditional clothed women walk the streets while sports stores selling Nike overlap. The locals know they need the money but don’t want to lose their roots. Shangri La is unsure ... read more
May 30th 2011
So I've decided to take the traditional name for Shangri-la as the location for this blog- Zhongdian. This is because this place was only renamed for the tourism industry a few years back- because Shangri-la sounds like some exotic destination beyond the Tibetan platau. But despite the touristy name, this place is every bit as interesting, welcoming and incredible as you can imagine. One thing I cannot get over here, is the simple kindness, generosity and overall friendliness of the locals here. Already in my first week here, I've made so many friends, and now when I walk the streets of old town, I pass by people and give them a wave and a friendly greeting; just like I've lived here for years. :-) The people at the Thanka Academy are especially lovely, and I've really ... read more
April 18th 2010
I listened to classic and hard rock on the way north, staring out and seeing the plentiful hills of the Yunnan countryside progressively turn into bigger and grander mountains. As the bus arrived in Shangri-La, or Zhongdian as it is also known, the transformation was complete as the snow covered mountains could be seen abound. After leaving the station, and noticing the air was quite cool, I wandered through streets (yet again) until I approached the old town. I checked into Kevin's Trekker Inn just outside and then explored. This town is highly Tibetan, as can be seen through architecture, food, and even the people's faces. At one point I had been entertaining the idea of visiting Tibet, but due to the government restrictions in place and the cost just for the permit I said forget ... read more
October 30th 2009
In 2001, Zhongdian was officially renamed Xianggelila, which is how the Chinese say Shangri-la. Shangri-la is of course a fictitious place, created in James Hilton's 1933 book 'Lost Horizon'. It is a mystical, harmonious valley, in the foothills of the Himalayas, isolated from the outside world, and is now synonymous with utopia. Many places in the world claim to be the inspiration behind the fantasy paradise, including a fair few just in China, but the Chinese Government went one step further than everyone else and took it upon themselves to officially claim it as their own. This is more than just absurd and was done just to attract more tourists (which believe me has worked wonderfully, as a couple of times I was told by other tourists that they were only there because it was, apparently, ... read more
August 1st 2009
From Dali I took a sleeper bus to Shangri-la, because I didn’t feel like spending the whole day travelling again. The stories, however, about backpacks being cut open in these buses scared me a lot. Even the owner of the guesthouse warned me about them. He said I should just put all my belongings in my large backpacks, because the robberies took place in the bus itself and not in the luggage compartment. So I packed everything in my backpack and took another bag, which someone had left on purpose, as hand luggage. It turned out that they did not put any bags in the special compartment and that I had to take everything with me in the bus... The result was that I was so afraid that someone would cut my backpack open that I ... read more
June 18th 2009
Zhongdian is a small town high in the mountains just outside of Tibet. The population, architecture, food, etc. are Tibetan. In 2001 the Chinese authorities officially changed the name to Shangri-La (or as the Chinese say "Shangri-Li-La") to capitalize on their claim that Zhongdian is the basis for the fictional city in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon. This is purely a marketing strategy to make it the next stop in the popular Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge trail. Knowing this going in made the town an interesting study on how the Chinese economic mega-machine approaches tourism. Having said that, it was actually a nice place to spend a few days. The "old" town, which is partially authentic and partially expansion, was as close to Lhasa (Tibet) as I was going to get this trip. I took ... read more
June 13th 2008
Well, I have all kinds of news. The internet has been unpredictable at best where I have been, and thus the long period without updates. First off, Clara and I decided to part ways a little early, because as we traveled more we found different things that we wanted to do, (don't worry it was very amicable, really just some logistical problems, no big fights lol). So, now I have been on my own for a few days, which I am loving! But, I am not really alone, as I am constantly meeting new and interesting people. For several days, I traveled with a Dutch girl name Leasebed (sounds like elizabeth), and we got along splendidly. She had to leave the country soon, and wanted to do the tiger leaping gorge, so I did that a ... read more
May 29th 2008
Shangri-la (aka Zhongdian) is Paradise! To back up a little, Zhongdian is the farthest north into Yunnan province that we go, and also (alas) the closest to Tibet. Turns out that Tibetan culture actually extends far more than the region on maps suggests - this is one of those non-tibetan regions that is full of Tibetan people and culture! Leaving from Lijiang, the 5 hour bus ride took us through the mountain range that features Tiger Leaping Gorge, and then breaks out into beautiful dry plains with landscapes, flowers, buildings and faces different to anywhere we've been so far. We arrived in the afternoon expecting it to be freezing but it was warm and sunny and inviting (the sky has never been so blue!). Spent an afternoon strolling the old city, similar to Lijiang or Dali ... read more
May 23rd 2008
We walked across the bridge into China and I marvelled that people could still walk into a protected country in 2008. I do not count crossing Europe¡¯s non borders where customs officers have become a rarity and the fences have been taken down. This was the People¡¯s Republic of China. The largest Communist country in the world, with a controlled economy and a state that ¡°likes to make sure that things go smoothly¡±. This is as far as I will go at this stage, not because I am typing this up in High Yunnan on the boundaries of Tibet, but because I believe it to be true. By the time, we had lugged our hmong blanket and souvenirs into China we were sweating nicely. The sun had come out and we looked for an entry into ... read more
May 19th 2008
Zo, even weer wennen op 3300 meter hoogte. De kalkterrassen op weg naar Zhongdian hebben we linkis laten liggen vanwege de mist, lichte regen en vermoeidheid van de trekking. Het Tibetaanse hotelletje, Songtsam naast het klloster, was erg leuk en kuns. Het Tibetaanse eten (oa Yak beef) s'avonds smaakte heerlijk. Op onze huisslippers door naar de kamer voor een welverdiende nachtrust. De volgende dag na het ontbijt met yak melk (zoetig) hebben we het grootste Tibetaanse klooster bezocht gesticht door de 5e Dalai Lama. Prachtig ,als de zon doorkomt , op de gouden daken van de tempels. Goed leven hebben die monnikken hier . Daaronder zwoegen de mensen om de grote zware stenen naar boven te zeulen ( ook de vrouwen!! ) Die middag met buslijn 3 naar het oude centrum ( voor 1 Yuan per ... read more
