Published on The Brunei Times
Shangri La: The Tibetan way of life
Liz Price
SHANGRI LA
Sunday, January 13, 2008
WHEN I was invited to a trip to Shangri La, I had no idea where it was. Of course I was familiar with the term Shangri-La being used to describe an imaginary paradise on earth. When I looked it up in the dictionary, it described it as the name of a hidden Tibetan valley in J Hilton's Lost Horizon (1933).
Next task was to check my Encarta world atlas. Nothing. Shangri La didn't exist. So out came the trusty old Lonely Planet guidebook to China, and lo and behold, there it was. I realised it was a new name given to attract tourists to this area. The main town is Zhongdian and lies in the north of Yunnan province, in southwest China.
At least I knew where I was going. I enjoy mystery tours, but I also like to read up in advance of where I am going, so I have some idea of what to expect. Although there is an airport at Zhongdian, we were doing things the hard way, driving there. In a convoy of 15 cars, we had driven from Bangkok to Mae Sai, then through Myanmar and into China, and through Yunnan province, from Kunming to Dali, then Lijiang and up to the Himalayan plateau where Shangri La lies.
As we entered the town of Zhongdian, I was excited to see snow lying on the pavements. It has been many years since I last saw snow. To combat the cold I had bundled up in five layers of clothing. It was about five degrees Celsius in the bright November sunshine. The first thing that struck me was that the town consisted of fairly wide streets with small but brightly painted shops. There was quite a Tibetan feel to the place.
Zhongdian is the last large town in China before the Tibet border. It lies 198km north of Lijiang and marks the start of the Tibetan world. It is a boomtown, the rise in Shangri La driven tourism has caused the construction of a bland Han Chinese town. Our hotel, the Holy Palace was in the new part of town.
On our first afternoon, we drove out to see the sights. First we went to the Napa Lake, about seven km northwest of the town. I was surprised to arrive and see no water, but then found out this is actually a seasonal lake, and at the time of our visit, was dry. It is part of a nature reserve and is surrounded by a large grass meadow, and is an important area for bird watching. One of the more common of the avian visitors is the black-necked crane.
The easiest way to see this large meadow is by horseback. A large group of locals dressed in their traditional Tibetan costumes were waiting with their horses and ponies. It was a photogenic sight, but the locals were more interested in getting our custom than having their photos taken. I paid my 30 Yuan ($6) for the half hour ride, and followed the herd of ponies trekking across the plateau.
We didn't go far, but it was a pleasant way to view the scenery of small hills, blue sky and snow-capped mountains in the distance. West of Zhongdian the mountain range includes 13 mountains all peaking over 6000m. The main peak, Kagebo, towering at 6,740 metres above sea level, is the highest mountain in Yunnan province, and one of the eight sacred mountains worshipped by the Tibetans. Legend has it that the peak is the incarnation of a Tibetan deity who helped local people drive away evil spirits.
For those who didn't want to ride, there was the chance for them to try their hand at archery.
And of course there were the inevitable souvenir shops. Since modern technology has arrived in this part of the world, stalls were offering the possibility to have your photo taken and then digitally printed. It seems that no place has escaped from computers nowadays.
The Ganden Sumtseling Gompa was my undoing. It is a 300-year-old Tibetan monastery on the edge of town, and is the most important monastery in southwest China. Some 600 monks stay here.
As I began to climb the long flight of stairs up to the monastery, the altitude got to me. I have had altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness, three times previously and I had vowed to myself never to go to altitude again by choice. As I climbed the steps a thumping headache began pounding in my skull and I was getting short of breath. A colleague tried to help me up the steps, but it wasn't much help as I had to frequently stop and rest. I felt like an old grandmother creeping up the stairs. An elderly lama overtook me, but even he was puffing and panting.
The monastery is of typical Tibetan design. Dark interiors, with lots of colourful thankas or religious paintings adorn the walls and the air is thick with the smell of rancid butter and oil from the lamps. I shuffled around very slowly, I just couldn't go at normal speed as there wasn't enough oxygen getting to my lungs.
In mid June the town plays host to a horse racing festival which lasts several days, and comprises of singing and dancing, eating, and of course horse racing. In September there is a festival featuring minority artistes from southwest China. On our first evening we were invited to a cultural show, but several of our group had to give it a miss as we were suffering from the altitude. As we had driven directly up to Shangri La we had had no chance to acclimatise, Zhongdian lies at 3200m. But as many tourists fly in, they would also suffer from the same problem. There isn't a great deal to do in the town other than wander around and absorb the atmosphere. But it is a good place to get a feel of the Tibetan way of life.
The Brunei Times
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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2008/01/13/shangri_la_the_tibetan_way_of_life
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