In 2001 the Chinese changed the name of this town from Zhongdian to Shangri-la, a fictional paradise, in order to attract tourists to the old town and the surrounding area. Well it worked because it’s now on the Yunnan tourist trail for foreigners and Chinese alike. Not that there were many tourists there when I was there – just a handful of both.
Much of the old town burnt down last year and is currently being rebuilt in the same style so when it’s finished it will be a modern replica of what was there before. But at the moment it looks like a building site and the hostels and restaurants there look sad and forlorn – not much business for them any longer.
I decided not to pay the inflated entrance fee for the local historic temple and instead decided to head out of town to a village called Nixi (see later blog entry). There’s not much to see in Shangri-la beyond a few temples and I am fed up with temples.
The thing that strikes you first when you get off the arduous bus journey from LiJiang is that it seems like you’ve arrived in Tibet. There are prayer flags everywhere and colourfully dressed women. I even saw a man in traditional dress including a dagger hanging in a silver sheath from his waist belt. That was the first time in this trip that I had seen a man in traditional dress. they usually dress in western clothes where the women go for a traditional look. Why is that?
Shangri-la is a dusty town with one main street and cows and yaks wondering around. It’s almost like you’ve left China – even the road signs are in Tibetan. There are even Tibetan style monks and ‘monklets’ on the street.
I think the best thing about Shangri-la is the fact that it allows you to explore the surrounding area – there’s nothing within the town which is going to occupy you for any time. The hotels are miserable and there are very few reasonable places to eat. the one I chose for a yak burger wasn’t serving food at all because there were not enough guests!
I did eventually find a yak burger and I can declare that it’s rather a disappointment – I don’t know what I was expecting but I had promised my friends I would have one and so I did. It was just a slab of meat between two pieces of bread – not even ground up into a patty. At least it didn’t cost me much.