Cultural centre · Scenic area · Yunnan
Shangri-La
香格里拉
Tibetan highland town of Gyalthang in north-western Yunnan
Shangri-La, formerly Zhongdian, is a county-level city at about 3,300 metres in north-western Yunnan and the capital of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Known in Tibetan as Gyalthang, it has the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, Ganden Sumtseling, and is the gateway to the high grasslands, lakes and snow mountains of the Yunnan–Tibet borderlands.
Key facts
- Province
- Yunnan
- Administrative level
- County-level city, capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
- Former name
- Zhongdian (until 2001)
- Elevation
- about 3,300 m
Overview
Shangri-La lies on a high plateau of grassland, marshes and forest in the south-eastern corner of the Tibetan cultural world, between the Jinsha River and the mountains of the Sichuan border. The town has a Tibetan core, the rebuilt old town of Dukezong, and a modern centre that grew with tourism after the county adopted the name Shangri-La in 2001, borrowed from the imaginary Himalayan valley of James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon.
The surrounding prefecture of Diqing reaches north to Deqin and the Meili Snow Mountains, with some of the most striking landscapes of the Three Parallel Rivers area.
Names and nicknames
中甸
The county's Chinese name until 2001, still widely used.
建塘
Chinese rendering of the Tibetan name Gyalthang.
History
Gyalthang was a Tibetan district on the trade routes between Yunnan and Lhasa, alternately under Naxi, Tibetan and Chinese influence. The monastery of Ganden Sumtseling was founded in 1679 with the support of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Qing incorporated the area into Yunnan in the eighteenth century. In 1957 the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was established, with Zhongdian as its capital. The county was renamed Shangri-La in 2001 and became a county-level city in 2014; in January of that year a fire destroyed a large part of the old town, which has since been rebuilt.
1679
Ganden Sumtseling Monastery founded
Established with the approval of the Fifth Dalai Lama as the main Gelug monastery of the region.
1957
Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Created with its seat at Zhongdian.
2001
Renamed Shangri-La
Zhongdian county took the name of the fictional paradise of Lost Horizon, as part of a tourism strategy.
January 2014
Dukezong fire
A fire destroyed much of the old town; the quarter was reconstructed in traditional style.
2014
City status
The county was converted into a county-level city.
2023
Railway from Lijiang
The Lijiang–Shangri-La railway brought the first rail link to Diqing.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Ganden Sumtseling Monastery
噶丹·松赞林寺
Gelug monastery on a hill north of the town, laid out like a small Potala, with several hundred monks.
Street or quarter
Dukezong Old Town
独克宗古城
The old Tibetan quarter, rebuilt after 2014, below Turtle Hill with its giant prayer wheel.
Nature
Pudacuo National Park
普达措国家公园
Protected area of forests, meadows and the Shudu and Bita lakes east of the town.
Nature
Napa Lake
纳帕海
Seasonal lake and wetland north-west of the town, a wintering ground for black-necked cranes.
Nature
Baishuitai
白水台
White travertine terraces in Sanba, regarded by the Naxi as the birthplace of the Dongba religion.
Neighbourhoods
Dukezong
独克宗
The old town and its guesthouses.
Deqin
德钦
Northern county of the prefecture facing the Meili Snow Mountains.
Food
Yak hotpot
牦牛肉火锅
Yak meat simmered in broth with vegetables and mushrooms.
Butter tea
酥油茶
Tea churned with yak butter and salt, drunk throughout the day.
Tsampa
糌粑
Roasted highland barley flour mixed with butter tea into a dough.
Matsutake
松茸
Prized wild mushrooms collected in the summer forests, much of them exported to Japan.
Culture
Diqing is Khampa Tibetan country with Naxi, Lisu, Yi and Han communities. Circle dances (锅庄) in the town square in the evening, the horse-racing festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and the religious calendar of Sumtseling shape local life. Tibetan farmhouses here are large, with rammed-earth walls and timber frames.
Mountains and nature nearby
Getting around
- Diqing Shangri-La Airport lies south of the town.
- Shangri-La station on the railway from Lijiang connects with Dali and Kunming.
- The altitude of around 3,300 metres can cause altitude sickness; visitors arriving from the lowlands should take the first days slowly.
Day trips
Meili Snow Mountains
梅里雪山
Sacred range in Deqin county with the summit Kawagebo, the highest point of Yunnan.
Tiger Leaping Gorge
虎跳峡
The northern side of the gorge and Haba Snow Mountain lie within Shangri-La.
Feilai Temple
飞来寺
Viewpoint facing the Meili range near Deqin town.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture People's Government — Diqing Prefecture People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Yunnan — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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