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Attractions in Shangri-la Overview

Shangri-La City, formerly known as Zhongdian, is located in the northern edge of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. It is the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and was renamed from Zhongdian County to Shangri-La on 17 December 2001. The name change was an effort to promote tourism in the area, as it was named after the fictional land of Shangri-La in the 1933 James Hilton novel "Lost Horizon". The city was upgraded into a county-level city on 16 December 2014.


Shangri-La City is renowned for its spectacular natural scenery and unique Tibetan-style architecture. Its major tourist attractions include the Shangri-La Grand Canyon, Meili Snow Mountain National Park, Baishuitai National Forest Park, and the Pudacuo National Park. The Shangri-La Grand Canyon is a breathtakingly beautiful tourist site with stunning canyon views and immersive hiking trails.


In addition to its natural beauty, Shangri-La City is also an important cultural center for Tibetan Buddhism. There are numerous temples and Buddhist cultural relics in the city, with the most famous being Songzanlin Monastery. It is one of the largest Tibetan Yellow Sect monasteries in the world, known for its grand architecture and rich collection of art.


In summary, Shangri-La City, also known as Zhongdian, offers visitors a unique blend of natural beauty and cultural heritage, making it a must-visit destination in Yunnan Province, China.

  • Pudacuo National Park

    Pudacuo National Park is located about 25km east of Shangri-La County. As the first national park on the Chinese mainland, Pudacuo was open to visitors in 2007. It incorporates the Bita Lake Nature Reserve and the Duhu Scenic Area in the Hongshan region. As such they are part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas World Heritage Site.Pudacuo qualifies as a natural wonderland. It contains endemic species of fish found nowhere else in the world, rare and beautiful orchids, black-necked cranes and taxus, a yew whose extract are indispensable to the creation of many cancer drugs.

  • Songzanlin Monastery

    Songzanlin Monastery is a typical Lama monastery. Located at the foot of Mt. Foping, 4 kilometers north of Zhongdian County, a monastery was first built here in 1679 and has been rebuilt many times. The architectural style of the building is a faithful imitation of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.
    The two main halls here are surrounded by hundreds of rooms for monks. In the main halls, three bronze statues and beautiful color murals decorate the walls relating to historical Buddhist events.

  • Napa Lake

    Napa Lake is 3270 meters above sea level and covers 660 square kilometers; it is approximately 8 kilometers northwest of Shangri-la County.
    Napa Lake Nature Reserve is both an ideal grazing field for herdsmen and a paradise for many species of birds. This is, in the true sense, a seasonal lake. When summer comes, snow on the adjacent mountains melts and flows down into about ten rivers forming a vast lake. In the dry season, Napa Lake becomes boundless green grassland--the best time for herding sheep or cattle. Every September, the lake turns into a temporary habitat for migratory birds, such as bar-headed geese, wild ducks and black-necked cranes (one of the 12 rarest bird species in the world).
  • Pudacuo National Park
  • Songzanlin Monastery
  • Napa Lake
 

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