Shangri-la - The Valley of Immortality

Shangri-la is one of the must-see destinations when coming to China when you want to experience the beautiful natural scenery and unique Tibetan cultural space. In the novel Lost Horizon, James Hilton describes this as a valley hidden among the Himalayas, known as the "Land of Immortality" - where time seems to stop and people live longer than usual.
This city is located in the Northwest of Yunnan province, China. Shangri-la is about 350km from Lijiang ancient town, the Yunnan tourist route along the Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangrila route is chosen by many tourists because of the interesting landscape and cultural experiences.

WHERE TO GO WHEN TRAVELING TO SHANGRI-LA?

- Dukezong Ancient City (Dukezong Ancient City)
This is the oldest place where Tibetans have lived for over 1,300 years and is the best preserved in China. Coming here, visitors will admire the carefully preserved ancient Tibetan houses. The wooden and stone houses stacked on top of each other, the winding cobblestone streets create an ancient and romantic space. The center of the ancient city is the Moon Square, where many cultural activities and traditional festivals take place.
- Pudacuo National Park
The park is located in the plateau of the Hengduan Mountains, famous for its flora and fauna and biodiversity. Pudacuo is known as one of the most beautiful national parks in China, covered with ancient pine forests, large-area broadleaf forests, long Alan grasslands interspersed with two jade-colored freshwater lakes, reflecting the surrounding landscape to create a beautiful picture. In addition, this is also home to many rare wild animals, rich and diverse flora.
- Songzanlin Monastery (Songzanlin)
Built in 1679, Songzanlin Monastery is also known as the "Little Potala Palace" because of its massive architecture and prime location on a high hill. This monastery was built by the 5th Dalai Lama, and at its peak, it was home to thousands of monks. As the most important and largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, it is considered a symbol of Tibetan Buddhist culture and architecture in Shangri-la. From a distance, Songzanlin has a majestic beauty with gold-plated and bronze-plated details and characteristic yellow-brown painted walls, creating a mysterious, unreal feeling.

- Napahai
Napa Lake - Napahai consists of a series of freshwater ponds and marshes, fed by eight small rivers in the surrounding mountains. The lake water flows into the underground river from the cave in the northwest corner, then flows through the cave to Tomdui, Nixi Town, is discharged and flows into the Jinsha River. Napa's water supply mainly depends on rainfall, surface runoff, melting water of ice and snow, as well as spring water rising along the fault zones on both sides of the lake.

MUST-TRY FOODS:
- Yak Hotpot
- Yak Milk Tea
#awesomepic #travel #china #trip

Post by mỹ hạnh hoàng | Aug 27, 2025