The Legend of Shangri-La

In 1933, James Hilton's novel, The Lost Horizon, became an international best seller. In the novel, a plane carrying four foreigners was forced to make an emergency landing near a small Tibetan Village. The foreigners find the village a peaceful, quiet, and self-sufficient community. The village is surrounded by a ring of snow-capped mountains, beautiful forests, huge, inaccessible valleys and fertile basins where crops grow in abundance. Hilton called this beautiful place "Shangri-La", a name which has now become synonymous with an earthly paradise. Hilton's vivid description of the environment emotionally moved readers from all over the world and now we use the word "Shangri-la" to connote peacefulness, luck, timelessness, and beauty. Recent scholarship has unequivocally confirmed that Diqing is the home of "Shangri-La" described in Hilton's book.

On September 14, 1997 a news conference was held by the People's Government of Yunnan Province to announce that Diqing had been determined to be the site of the original "Shangri-La". The announcement stirred the interest of the global community like a rock falling into a pond. Media coverage spread the news to every corner of the world. The number of visitors to Diqing grew exponentially. Visitors to the region have been awed by the landscape, the ancient Diqing civilization, and the indomitable spirit of the Tibetan people.

"Shangri-La" means "having the sun and moon in your heart" in the Tibetan Language, a term whose origin comes from the "moonlight town" and "sunlight town" built during the Tang and Song Dynasties, respectively. The two cities were said to embody the qualities of the sun and moon, a belief that became a legend over the years and was passed on from generation to generation.

Located at the union of three rivers, Diqing's landscape is described variously as rough, lofty, mysterious, appealing, and tranquil, but always as unique. Within Diqing territory, there are approximately one hundred mountains over 4,000 meters in elevation all of which are capped with snow all year round. Among the many beautiful peaks, Meili snow-capped mountain, Baimang snow-capped mountain, Haba snow-capped mountain, Balagengzong snow-capped mountain and Biluo Snow-capped mountain are among the most beautiful. Also in this mountain range is the Kawagebo Peak, the highest in Yunnan, the summit of which has yet to be conquered by any mountain climber. The scenic features of this region also include a number of gorges, the most notable of which are the Shangri-La canyon, the Tiger-Leaping Gorge, and the Lancang River Gorge.

Diqing's pasture land, along with its 5,000 lakes, covers a total area of 440,000 ha and the entire region is dotted with colorful flowers, herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep. Bita Lake, Napa Lake, Shudu Lake, and thousand lake mountain are likely to overwhelm the first-time visitor with the sheer force of their natural beauty.

Diqing is also home to numerous ethnic minority cultures along with their colorful customs and rituals. Of principle interest among the various cultural practices is dance and the visitor to Diqing will have a chance to witness the dignified Zhongdian Guozhuang dance, the primitive and unrestrained Deqin Xuanzi dance, and the lively Tacheng Reba dance. After watching the spirit-lifting dances of the various ethnic groups many visitors find that they are too happy to leave the region. Visitors can also wander through Tibetan Buddhist temples such as the Songzan and Dongzhu temple groups, where they can experience the mystical appeal of Tibetan Buddhism and the profound and noble cultural heritage of which it is a part.

Each of the ethnic groups within the region has developed its own distinctive cuisine, type of dwelling, clothing, and religious practices which most visitors find fascinating. In addition, the visitor to Diqing can experience first hand such Tibetan culinary delights as buttered tea with zanba, yak meat or Pipa meat, Tibetan yogurt and various Tibetan pastries. And let's don't forget the beautiful Tibetan dress, which persists like a window to the distant past, preserved today just like it was a thousand years before.

Words fail to capture the full beauty of Diqing. Only by personally visiting the region can one really come to understand the full power and eternal appeal of the region that is the real "Shangri-la". It is no wonder that so many visitors say that their visit to Diqing was one of the most tranquil and memorable experiences of their lives.