Shangri-la Ancient Town
Potatso National Park
Songzanlin Temple
Recently discovered to be the original 'Shangri-La', a wonderful place depicted in Hilton's novel 'The Lost Horizon', Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Yunnan Province, with Tibet to its west and Sichuan to its east. Covering an area of 23,870 square kilometers (9,216 square miles), Diqing has a population of 323,556 (2006). This autonomous prefecture has jurisdiction over 2 counties and 1 autonomous county, Shangri-La, Deqin, and Weixi, and the capital is at Shangri-La County. It is a paradise-like and peaceful land where there are snow-mountains and deep valleys, brilliant temples and halls, green forest and clear lakes, crowds of oxen and sheep on the wide grasslands.
History
Diqing has a very long history. People started settling in this area as early as six thousand years ago. Tibetans' ancestors, Tubo have lived here and created a colorful and rich culture here. Today Diqing is still the only pass from Yunnan to Tibet. Within this autonomous prefecture, over 30 per cent of the population are Tibetan.
Geography
Situated in the northwest of Yunnan, Diqing has the highest altitude in the province. The elevation ranges from 1,480 to 6,740 meters (4,856 to 22,113 feet), the average altitude is 3,380 meters (11,089 feet). About 93.5 percent of the land is mountainous. At the position on the border of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, northern end of southern part of Hengduan Mountain range, with Jinsha River and Lancang River across the whole prefecture from north to south, Diqing has a unique natural view.
Climate
Diqing belongs to plateau humid climate. The annual mean temperature is 5.5 degrees Celsius (41.9 degrees Fahrenheit) and average rainfall is 700 millimeters (27.6 inches) per annum. The climate is not obviously different in four seasons but the temperature here changes much between day and night. So, whenever tourists make a trip to Diqing, they should bring overcoats with them.
Tourist Sites
Diqing, a Tibetan word meaning 'land of good luck', is world-known to tourists. In this prefecture are such wonderful, fantastic landscapes as snow mountains and glaciers, vast fertile plateau meadows, boundless dense forests and widely scattered plateau lakes. Here at the mountain bottom, the Jinsha River and Lancang River are rolling ahead ceaselessly, the famous First Bend of the Yangtze River and the mystic Shangri-La Great Gorge attract tourists from the whole world; In the mountainside, there are Baishui Tableland and Xianren Cave, and a lot of rare animals and plants; On the top, there are lofty peaks of Meili Snow Mountain, Haba Snow Mountain and Baimang Snow Mountain. Tibetan, Naxi and Han with colorful and diverse folk customs, are attracting more and more visitors.
What to see: Meri Snow Mountain
Recommended Diqing Tour Itinerary:
Kunming Extension Tour: 9 Days of Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Kunming
