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Travel to the far north of China’s
Yunnan Province and you enter an
intoxicating new world. As you climb
higher, above 3,000 metres, your
senses sharpen in the thin air and the
cities and towns of the lowlands give
way to isolated villages surrounded
by green pastures in which yaks
graze. Tibetan prayer flags flutter
in the wind, while white chorten, or
stupas, dot the landscape. And in the
distance, soaring to 6,000 metres
or more, are the majestic mountains
that mark the border between
Yunnan and Tibet.
U N D E R T H E B A N YA N T R E E
PHOTOs: Alexander Cohn
P R E V I O U S PA G E :
The majestic yak is central to
Tibetan culture, providing a
source of food and clothing
F R O M T O P : A footbridge
crosses the Mekong river
at Monyong village, arid
conditions along the river
belie the lush vegetation
at higher altitudes; A man
walks the dirt path to
Shangrila's Chicken Temple
beside colourful traditional
prayer flags fluttering in the
gentle breeze
07/12 2015
Welcome to Shangrila, home to some of the most
stunning scenery in all of China. In this exotic and remote
pocket of northwest Yunnan, the namesake city of Shangrila
is the only significant settlement. Outside it are untouched
lakes and valleys that are home to rarely-visited villages and
monasteries housing Tibetan lamas. Vast, rolling meadows of
green are everywhere, offering the tantalising choice of epic
hikes or horse rides through a land that has changed very little
despite China’s rapid modernisation in recent decades.
Shangrila has a unique, heady atmosphere — partly due
to the altitude and the glorious clean air — and feels very
different from other parts of Yunnan, mainly because of the
large numbers of Tibetans in the area. The dark-skinned,
smiling men in wide-brimmed hats and high boots and
the women with plaited hair in their traditional dress are a
reminder that the border with Tibet is only a few hours drive
north. You’re as likely to hear ‘tashi-delek”, the Tibetan for
‘hello’, as you are “nihao”, the Chinese version, while yak
butter tea, rather than the green tea grown lower down in
Yunnan, is the staple drink. One consequence of being so
close to Tibet is that you’re high up. With Shangrila nestling at
3,200 metres above sea level, many visitors will need a day or
two to adjust to the altitude before setting off to explore.
The weather too, is Tibetan in its extremes. An icy
chill descends in the winter and Shangrila virtually shuts
down. Roads become snowbound, meaning transport is
problematic, and the luckier residents disappear in search of
warmer climes. Make sure to time your visit for between April
and October. Then, you can be guaranteed some sun during
the day, although it is still often chilly at night.
Until 2001, this still pristine region saw few visitors.
Instead, Shangrila was nothing more than a concept of a
place, a vision of a remote mountain utopia dreamed up by
James Hilton in his bestselling novel Lost Horizon. Published
in 1933, and made into a Hollywood movie four years later,
the book tells the story of four travellers who find themselves
marooned in a monastery in an idyllic valley somewhere high
in the Himalayas whose occupants can live for hundreds
of years. Almost from the moment Hilton’s novel came out,
the search was on for the real — life Shangrila. A number
of locations elsewhere in China — in neighbouring Sichuan
Province — as well as Pakistan’s Hunza Valley, laid claim
to be the fabled spot. But the government of Zhongdian in
northwest Yunnan had other ideas.
In 2001, the town of Zhongdian,
and its surrounding county, were
officially renamed as Shangrila.
There is little doubt that the
name change was motivated by a
desire to boost tourism. But it is
likely that Hilton, who wrote Lost
P R AY E R F L A G S
The tradition of prayer
Horizon in urban north London,
flags is an ancient one
was inspired by the articles
that goes back thousands
of years. The Tibetan word
published in National Geographic
for prayer flag is Dar Cho.
detailing the expeditions of the
Dar means to increase
wealth and health, while
famed American naturalist Joseph
loo ͕