Welcome to another world,
the Shangri La described by James Hilton
in his World famous novel “Lost Horizon”.
If more and more tourists travel to Shangri
La (also call Zhongdian, its former name),
this area still preserves a unique and remote
atmosphere, also due to the Tibetan minority
that keep the place different from the rest
of Yunnan. Shangri La is in the center of
a famous scenic area where three mighty
rivers converge: the Nu River, the Yangtze
River and the Mekong River. The best things
to do here is to directly head 5km out of
town to the gorgeous Gedan Songzanglin Monastery,
home to around 700 Tibetan monks. You can
stay overnight here to one of the Guest
Houses around. The Zhongdian Old Town is
also worth to check out, as one of the surroundings
lakes.
