Zhongdian re-baptized like Shangrila

Zhongdian is the third interest point in this route of the northwest of Yunnan. Without being able to be compared of any form to Dali or to Lijiang, it is a locality, nevertheless, very interesting, especially because it provides the most nearby occasion to know first hand the fascinating Tibetan Yunnan culture, as well as one of his most representative temples, that of Songzanlin. This notice is convenient, because the provincial government is promoting with big money quantities this tourist route of the Northwest and to compare Zhongdian with two cities earlier described, he has decided that Zhongdian is Shangrila.
This is a foolery, since Shangrila is an imaginary place, as it it is the country of Shambala of the Tibetan traditions in which it is inspired.

The Monastery of Songzanlin is the whole monastic city constituted by a score of temples and a long hundred of houses in which there live the monks constructed the purest Tibetan style, which is provided with more than 300 resident monks. It is placed to only three kilometers of the city.

This temple is a wonderful example of the harmony of the Tibetan architecture with his environment and for those who have not visited the Tibet, it is a splendid introduction in the style of life of the Tibetan Buddhism. In the last some years of his principal temples destroyed during the Cultural revolution, they have been reconstructed. Nevertheless there are still seen the remains of the walls of the ancient lounges. The monastery does not receive many visits of western travelers so one is always well received and often it is possible to finish the visit sharing a tea of fat of yak at some of the monks'.

The lake Bita (Bitahai in Chinese) is to 25 kilometers to the east of Zhongdian. On the banks of the lake it is possible to spend the night in a few charming cabins of wood where to the dusk there join to the fire the occasional visitors of the different ethnic groups who inhabit the region.

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