Shangri-la ....
Tibetan influence is well and truly apparent in Shangri-La a Tibetan Prefecture. Many women wear the clothing and headdress of their ethnic group. The houses, agriculture and terrain are all Tibetan in appearance.
A 3 hour bus trip took us to this town 4000 mts. above sea level. It was not as we expected. The terrain is mountainous and scrubby. Yaks graze the high plains. The Tibetan style homes being built are of enormous proportion with high rooves, beautifully carved windows and doors elaborate wooden framing. Massive conifer tree trunks are used as framing supports, with bright use of colours; mud-brick or cement infill and small windows. We figured the small windows must be used because it is so cold up here. In contrast the city houses had large glass houses built over outdoor spaces, presumably to capture the sun's warmth and provide dry spaces.
It is summertime but overnight the temperatures plunge to freezing and the mornings are crisp until the sun comes up. In winter, the mountains and ground are snow covered.
The town is spacious and has lots of well-built new buildings. The old city is being rebuilt after being destroyed, possibly by fire?Architectural highlights in the city centre include the Guishan Park Temple and its huge Golden Prayer wheel. Tancheng temple and the largest Tibetan Monastery in south - west China are other points of interest. We felt the exhaustive affects of the high altitude when climbing the steps to Guishan Park Temple but continued to enjoy the experience.
There are plenty of beautiful Tibetan artefacts available but prices are high in the Old City.
Not having a mobile phone here is a disadvantage as we needed one to book cheaper airfares, call accommodation and access WIFI at airports.
Domestic airfares out of Shangri-la were much more expensive than we expected.
Warning: avoid purchasing airfares the day before expected date of departure, as they escalate by the hour.
We stayed at the Laoshay Youth Hostel which is 6km out of town with views of the pyramidal Mt. Karakul as well as the surrounding ranges. A double storied Tibetan style building with a relaxed atmosphere, friendly English speaking staff and good meals. The chef was on his first 3 month job and was teaching himself to play the ukulele by video, for leisure.
The hostel location proved to be inconvenient, but it provides a taxi service for very reasonable fees.
We are escaping the cold weather of Shangri-La by leaving Yunnan province and flying to Guilin (karst country) via Kunming, to the Guangxi Province today.
