Morethan90yearsago,AmericanexplorerandbotanistJosephF.Rock(1884-1962)firstsetfootinthenorthwesternpartofYunnanProvince,anareaenclosedbycraggymountains.Thefascinationofthisjourneyfortheexplorerisplaintoseefromthelargequantitiesofplantspecimensandphotosheamassed,andthevoluminousreportshewroteonthecultureofthelocalNaxiethnicgroup.
NowvisitorscansavorRock’sphotosinthelobbyoftheSongtsamBenzilanLodgeinShangri-LaCityinDiqingTibetanAutonomousPrefectureofYunnanProvince.Thelodge’sownerBaimaDorji,aTibetannativeofShangri-La,boughtthesephotosfromNationalGeographicin2012.Showingpeopleintraditionalcostumes,buildingsandsceneswithdistinctearly20thcenturyfeatures,thephotosrecalltheShangri-Laofmorethan90yearsago.
Shangri-Labecameahouseholdname,thankstothe1930sbestsellerLostHorizonbyJamesHilton.InspiredbyRock’sadventures,Hiltoncreatedanidyllicplaceinhisnovel,whichmadethenameShangri-Lasynonymouswithaheavenlyutopia.
IntheTibetanlanguage,Shangri-Lameansthesunandthemooninone’sheart.Shangri-LaCityistheseatofDiqingTibetanAutonomousPrefecture,borderingSichuanProvinceandTibetAutonomousRegion.AsthecoreareaoftheThreeParallelRiversofYunnanProtectedAreas,aUNESCOWorldNaturalHeritagesite,ShangriLaCityliesintheupperreachesofthreeofthegreatriversofAsia,cuttingthroughsteeprangesandcreatingmarvelousbiogeographicspectacles.
Shangri-La,covering110,000sqkm,ishometomorethan20ethnicgroupsincludingTibetan,Han,Naxi,Lisu,Yi,andBai.Ofthese,Tibetansaccountforathirdoftheentirepopulation.TibetanBuddhism,therefore,ispredominantamonglocals.
TheclusterofTibetanBuddhistmonasteries,knownasGandenSumtselingMonastery,isamidtheFopingMountain,fivekmnorthofthecityproper.Firstbuiltin1679,itisthebiggestofitskindinYunnanProvince,andcommandshighrespectamonglocalbelievers.IneachvillageofShangri-LaonecanseeobjectsassociatedwithTibetanBuddhism–manistonesandprayerwheels,aswellasmonasteriesthatstillpracticetraditionalreligiousrituals.
SincetheTangandSongdynasties,ShangriLahasplayedapivotalroleintheancientcom-mercialroute,alsoknownastheChamaGudao,orAncientTea-HorseTrail,thatconnectedXishuangbanna,DaliandLijianginYunnanallthewaytoLhasainTibetandthenontoIndiaandNepal.Thetrailwastroddenbymerchantstravelingbackandforthtransportingmules,horses,hides,andherbsfromTibet,SichuanandYunnanaswellastea,cloth,saltanddailygoodsproducedinSichuan,YunnanandotherpartsofChina.
Commercehaspromotedthepopulationflowandculturalintegration.Therefore,thepeopleofShangri-Laaremoresophisticatedandhospitablethantheyatfirstappear.Invillageswherepeopleofmulti-ethnicgroupslive,allrespectoneanother’sculturesandconventions.Sometraditionsareacceptedandpracticedbyallafterlivingsidebyside,generationaftergeneration.PatrickDruet,aFrenchmanwhohasworkedindifferentcountriesaswellasinChinesecities,sayshelikesShangri-Lathemostforthewaypeople’ssmilescomefromtheirhearts.
Indeed,behindthetranquillifeoftheShangri-Lapeoplearestrongaspirations–respectingnature,followingtheirhearts,andprotectingtheecologyforabetterfuture.AsthecoreareaoftheThreeParallelRiversofYunnanProtectedAreas,aUNESCOWorldNaturalHeritagesite,Shangri-LaCityliesintheupperreachesofthreeofthegreatriversofAsia,cuttingthroughsteeprangesandcreatingmarvelousbiogeographicspectacles.
AlodgeinthecenteroftheoldtownofShangri-La.PhotosbyYuXiangjun
SongtsamBenzilanLodgeliesalongastretchoftheJinshaRiverinasmallvillagehiddeninthevalley.TripAdvisor,aglobaltravelwebsite,hasincludedtheSongtsamLodgesinitslistofTop25HotelsinChinafornineconsecutiveyears.In2016,threeoftheselodgeswerelistedintheTop25SmallHotelsinChina.TheU.K.-basedTatlermagazineselectedSongtsamMeiliLodgeasoneofthe“101BestHotelsintheworld”in2012.EvenPrinceAndrewoftheU.K.choseSongtsamLinkaRetreatwhenhetraveledtoShangri-LaCityinYunnanProvincein2015.