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Published: October 29th 2007
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Shangrila was traditionally know as Zhongdian, but sometime in the last 20 years or so, changed its name purely to encourage tourism by linking its name to the fictional valley and lamasery depicted in the 1947 novel The Lost Horizon by James Hilton. (The ruse is ironic, because like the Hotel California, the Shangri-La of the book was a place you could never leave, hardly a place to entice tourists: it was also a place whose nature supposedly derived more from Western people and ideas, than Eastern.)
We were fortunate in our tour to have a Naxi guide in Lijian, a Mouo guide at Lugu and a Tibetan guide at Shangrila. All were very impressive by their level of knowledge, patience, wearing of traditional costumes and ability to sing (if not an ability to speak English). There are already a body of beautiful and well-known songs about Shangrila (the Chinese disconcertingly add another syllable: Shan-ge-ri-la), which makes one feel the name is as old and beloved as London, New York, Beijing or Lhasa! We were fortunate to pick up a particularly experienced and enthusiastic guide at Qiaotou, who explained much about Tibetan culture (including that either a man or a
woman can have two spouses) and religion, and sang many fine songs. We stopped at a memorial and cemetery for the 10th Panchen Lama. Flags on sticks were bunched together to mark each soul who had passed away locally. A prayer wheel was kept turning by a water wheel.
Agriculture was markedly different in the lands of the Tibetans, with yaks very much in evidence and a root vegetable - qingke - the staple, which is dried in large racks near to the homes. Housing was equally distinctive with large wood-framed houses, with the bottom floor used in winter to house live-stock, and with ornate carving and painting of front walls, window-frames, eaves, lintels and the like.
Shangri-la also has an “ancient city” quarter, called Dukezong Old Town, said to be less affected by tourism, and other forces, than those at Li Jiang and Su He, but this was frankly unable to be appraised as our visit was so quick and superficial. The House of Abu, complete with a welcoming old gentleman who will to chat with any passers-by, said to have been built 1635 in the Ming Dynasty was, nevertheless, most interesting.
Above the old town
was a small temple with a giant prayer wheel, which we delighted to turn by hand. Unfortunately, the major lamasery and temple at Shangri-la was not part of our tour. However, the next day, on the road back to Shangrila from the national park, we stopped at a remarkable temple in a “Tibetan Cultural Village”, which had a number of chapels devoted to different Buddhist sects. Frustratingly, we had little time to explore this. We later stopped at the House of the Living Buddha, which had accommodated a number of Buddhist saints, including at times visiting Panchen Lamas. This was an important stop for Dan as she was able to consult a lama doctor about some health issues.
Our morning in Shangri-la was devoted to a visit too Padacuo National Park, only 12 months old, but being talked up as the country’s largest and its answer to America’s Yellowstone National Park. It is certainly big indeed, and comprises two large lakes (one they call a sea), some fine hills and various vegetation, and reaches some significant altitudes (oxygen recommended). The effects of frost and fog were quite impressive in the morning. Also impressive was how many traders defied incredible
cold ready for the madding hordes of tourists, shunted from sight to sight in the park in a fleet of special busses. We enjoyed two long boardwalks alongside both lakes. An interesting plant seen was the suyouhua, with broad, flat leaves used traditionally to hold yak cream (suyou).
As noted above, we visited the Tibetan Cultural Village on the way back to Shangri-la, where we visited the House of the Living Buddha. We then had lunch, travelled back to Lijiang, where we stayed one more night (see section on Lijiang) before flying back to Shenzhen. The perfect whether, unlike the day we arrived, afforded magnificent views of the snow mountains and other ranges, and the course of the nascent Yangtse River through these hills. It was sadly not long (on Friday 26 October) before we flew into the brown haze that covers much of Southern China and obscures any worthwhile views from the air.
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