Zhongdian Travel Guide

  Shangri-La Old Town
by MJL
 
  • Shangri-La Old Town
      Shangri-La Old Town
    by MJL
  •   Things to Do
    by MJL
  •   Things to Do
    by MJL
  •   Things to Do
    by MJL
  •   Things to Do
    by MJL
 

Pro

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 landscapes, people, food 


Con

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 This mystical place will not remain so 


In a nutshell

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 I will come back again 

 

Explore Zhongdian

Things to Do  

Pudacuo National Park

Pudacuo National Park, Zhongdian

 MJL Says:  This park’s total area is 1313 square kilometers, of which, 300 square kilometers has been opened out for sight-seeing. This park is in possession of well-conserved landscape resources such as geology and geomorphology, lake and wetland, forest meadow, valley and rivulet, as... 

Songzanlin Monestary

Songzanlin Monestary, Zhongdian

 travelpug Says:  Every visitor must visit this temple complex. Songzanlin is the largest lama monastery in Yunnan province. Walking in the complex is very relaxing. You can visit each temple and got blessed by the lama on duty. The whole complex comprises of eight small monesteries and... 

wandering without wondering

wandering without wondering, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  On our way back to Dali, on the road we noticed this small tibetan market.Well actually I am still not sure if it was a market or if they were some kind of nomads with hanging dresses just to dry them.We went there to give a look and take some photos and those people didn't... 

Restaurants  

arro khampa restaurant: the yak steak

arro khampa restaurant: the yak steak, Zhongdian

 gyalzur Says:  i had lunch in arro khampa in march 2010 and i was really surprised!!! the service was outstanding and the food was delicious. warm and cosy with an open fire and a real tibetan decoration!! i can highly recommend the yak-steak. in fact it was the first real steak i had in... 

Tibet Cafe and Inn: Yak Butter Tea

Tibet Cafe and Inn: Yak Butter Tea, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  Honestly, if you haven't tasted yak butter tea, you haven't been to Shangri-la. The combination of fat and salt and caffeine is not as bad as it sounds*, particularly if you're suffering from altitude sickness. The tea taste particularly gamey ( due to all that yak milk) and... 

Soyala Tibetan Diner and Lounge: Yak Hamburgers, homebrewed beer

Soyala Tibetan Diner and Lounge: Yak Hamburgers, homebrewed beer, Zhongdian

 RealRichard Says:  I had dinner in the Soyala Tibetan diner and it was awesome!Delicious yak hamburgers and homebrewed beer are offered. The beef was excellent and the service was really good. The restaurant is run by former kids from the Shangri-La orphanage. Their service is great and their... 

Any Noodle Shop in Town: Tukpa Noodles

Any Noodle Shop in Town: Tukpa Noodles, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  A typical lunch for me in Yunnan is a warm bowl of rice noodles topped with vegetables (lots of it ) and minced meat. It makes a healthy yet filling dish. A bowl of noodles like this cost no more than 5rmb. 

Tibet Cafe: Yak Meat and Tired Feet

Tibet Cafe: Yak Meat and Tired Feet, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  It must have been about 1pm when I reached Shangri-la. I was tired and ravenous from a dangerous bus journey from Lijiang and couldn't wait to feast on the local specialties. We ordered a complete menu of Tibetan specialties, including the noodles, fried yak meat, topped off... 

Street Vendor: Tibetan blood sausages

Street Vendor: Tibetan blood sausages, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  The Gyuma in Shangri-la is bloody addictive. Literally. These are Tibetan blood sausages made from quarts of yak blood, offal, minced beef and rice stuffed into goat intestines. Actually, it is more delicious than it sounds. The sausage is crisp, salty and fatty. Not too... 

Nightlife  

Noah's Cafe: Beer in Shangri La

Noah's Cafe: Beer in Shangri La, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  This is Shangri-la's hippest drinking hole and the best place to get high on cheap Chinese beer. They've got a good range of other beers, chic waitresses and a groovy feel to the whole place. Nobody will notice even if you come in here dressed like a woolly yak. Everyone... 

Dance in the square

Dance in the square, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  We arrived at Zhongdian in the late evening, so, after we got the hotel we went out looking for a place to eat.Not knowing where to go, we decided to follow the direction from where some music was coming.In this way we ended up in the main square where there was music and a... 

Transportation  

Private car

Private car, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  From Dali and Lijiang you can come to Zhongdian with busses, there are many and it takes more than 8 hours from Dali and 3 or more hours from Lijiang(depending on the road conditions).I did not have enough time to use public transports and, above all I did not like the idea... 

best to hire a safe driver to get around Zhongdian

best to hire a safe driver to get around Zhongdian, Zhongdian

 anilegna Says:  there's a #3 bus that goes from Gucheng (old town) to Songzanlin Monastery, also taxis to get around the city, but please get out of town if you want to see why they call this place Shangri-la, I had two drivers through the trip, 1st 1/2 for the Lijiang to Zhongdian drive &... 

Shopping  

Pendants

Pendants, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  There aren't enough shops in the old town but yet, fortunatly not too many.Some of them sell outdoor clothes, some animals leather products(awfully), some tibetan handicrafts. The only thing that really caught my attention was the tibetan pendant, there were so many and all... 

Local Customs  

No pressure

No pressure, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  The first thing I noticed while walking around the small streets of Zhongdian was the peace and the silence.This surprised me probably because I was coming here after I visited other Yunnan small towns popular for markets, where your attention is caught by shouting "hello"... 

Tourist Traps  

Shangri La

Shangri La, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  Shangri La does not really exist.It's an imaginary place described in a novel written by James Hilton.This does not automatically makes Zhongdian, today told to be the real Shangri La, a tourist trap, I myself came here in a certain way, with the aim of following the... 

Off The Beaten Path  

Serengeti in Shangri La

Serengeti in Shangri La, Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  A freshly butchered yak, complete with a furry horned-head, hangs on display outside a beef noodle shop in Shangri-la. The odour of blood draws housewives to the carcass. As they haggle over the price of the spare parts, I think of the lions in Serengeti, they were not too... 

Foxy Pelts from 'Russia'

Foxy Pelts from 'Russia', Zhongdian

 bpacker Says:  Pelts with heads, tails and legs hang from a wooden rack in a shop at the Old Town. As I approached the shop, the shop-keeper tells me that these were fox pelts from Russia . I begged to differ after a closer look. They were domestic dogs and I hurriedly left the shop as... 

Favorites  

Landscapes

Landscapes, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  When the travel is more important than the final destination.I absolutely loved Zhongdian, but the trip to there was breathtaking.The road is not the best one and it gets worse and worse while going up, when finally, once a few kilometers from the town, everything becomes... 

Local daily life

Local daily life, Zhongdian

 xaver Says:  Street scenes while walking around the town on early morning: this has been my favourite thing in Zhongdian.People in local dresses ging to the temple, going to the market, washing clothes, it just appeared as a peaceful mountain town, not as a tourist spot, at least not... 

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Map of Zhongdian