Zhongdian
ALTITUDE – 3300m/10800ft
Overview
The People
The History of the Swastika
Old Town
Song Zan Lin Monastery
Napa Hai Lake
Weather
Access
Zhongdian Gallery
Associated Locations
Overview
After Lijiang, Zhongdian offers a remarkable change of experience. The Naxi people have been left behind and as you walk the streets, rubbing shoulders with maroon and yellow clad monks and avoiding being trampled by Yaks, you know you’re in Tibetan country. Although Zhongdian lies geographically outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the experience here with the culture and landscape is really authentic.
The town changed its name officially to Shangri La in 2001, and is taking full advantage of the subsequent marketing potential. In truth, the town bears little resemblance to the fictional area described by James Hilton in his book Lost Horizons, but it is surely a gateway to some of the most wild and impressive country in Western China.
There are a number of unique things to do in and around the town, and as here is a great place to stop for the night to aid the acclimatisation process, it is a “must do” on any tour of the area.
The People
Although there are some Han Chinese in town, Zhongdian is a fully autonomous town and the people are essentially Tibetan in origin. There is plenty of trade between Yunnan and Tibet, as the main road to Lhasa bypasses the town. I always feel as if I have gone back in time a way when I visit this town, the people have the flushed cheeks of those that live permanently at altitude, and traditional Tibetan clothes are a common site.
A walk around the market area will open any visitors eyes; huge blocks of Yak butter and Tibetan cheeses, aged to the point of rotting, and bundles of colourful prayer flags and incense. The place is a visual and sensory feast, the combination of the rarified atmosphere, coupled with the smell of Juniper smoke and drying yak dung for the fires – the map may say Yunnan, but you’re in Tibet.
The History of the Swastika
A common symbol in Tibetan Buddhism is the symbol that was used for the Swastika. The origins of the work come from Sanscrit “suastika”, meaning any lucky or auspicious object. It is a common site on the homes of the local people and around the temples.
Old Town
As with Lijiang, the ancient heart of Zhongdian retains its traditional wooden houses at its heart. The stone-cobbled streets worn smooth by the passing of generations of boots and livestock. The majority have been turned over as guesthouses, cafes or shops, but as they are all selling traditional Tibetan artefacts, the feel is definitely genuine. Here is the place to buy such things as large Tibetan knives, intricately carved yak skulls or seriously warm yak hair clothes for your trip higher up.
The food too is Tibetan, with Yak hotpot and rich stews being common staples. The body consumes many more calories at altitude than sea level, and the Tibetan diet is rich in fat and carbohydrates.
I feel here you also begin to notice the unbreakable tie between the people and their faith. Tibetan Buddhism here is such a huge part of everyday life that it becomes yours too. The mornings are crisp and the smell of Juniper smoke is everywhere, offerings to the Buddha. Prayer flags adorn many buildings and the red, yellow, green, blue and white mantras flutter everywhere.
Song Zan Lin Monastery
The Ganden Sumtseling Monastery lies around 5km out of Zhondian at around 3380m/11090ft. It is sometimes referred to as the little Potala, and is certainly the most important Monastery in SW China.
It was built in 1679 and although extensively damaged, has been restored to retain its formidable position at the end of a small shallow valley. A traditional village of mud and wattle bricks with pale cladding tumbles around its flanks like breaking waves, and the flooded grasslands to the west are the grazing pastures of yak and horse.
As one walks around the buildings, some crumbling with age, but still inhabited, a calm serene feeling is all-consuming. The raucous calls of Red-billed Choughs flying overhead, blended with the deep resonant chanting of the hundreds of monks who live here.
Napa Hai Lake
This is an extensive seasonal lake that floods the flat land north west of Zhongdian. The water level is at its peak in late summer/early autumn after the monsoon rains, and slowly recedes throughout the much drier winter.
The grasslands are extensive and the local people farm the fringes and harvest the grass for animal fodder for the lean winter months. Hundreds of incongruous wooden structures dot the landscape, like some bizarre whicker totems, but in the autumn as they become festooned with drying vegetables, their use is readily apparent.
Nothing grows up here in the winter, and people survive mainly on dried vegetables, such as turnips, corn for flour, potato and the staple Tibetan food Tsamba, which is roasted flour mixed with salty yak butter tea.
Other than the incredinle culture that is visible around the lake shores, the area is a haven for wintering Black-necked Cranes, one of the worlds rarest species, and a real high-altitude specialist. The birds nest at well over 4000m on the Tibetan plateau and winter at the relatively temperate Napa Hai Lake. The Cranes are joined by hundreds of Black Storks, White-tailed Sea Eagles and numerus Duck, such as Ferruginous and Ruddy Shelduck.
The birds are mainly present from October to April.
Weather
The climate is a combination of two very powerful factors; the Monsoon and the Altitude. 70% of the annual precipitation falls between June and September, with the rest of the year being extremely dry. Winters are chilly, but sunny, with nighttime temperatures dropping to -15C (5F). Summer are still cool with daytime highs of around 19C (66F), but out of the sun it can feel chilly.
Visitors to the region for the first time may be shocked at the dryness of the air.
Access
There are two ways in to Zhongdian; one is to drive up from Lijiang, which takes between 3-4 hours direct, or more with stops for sight-seeing, and the other is to fly. The main route is from Kunming, but there are also regular flights to Lhasa.
