中国雲南省シャングリラ – 古代都市、自然、寺院、ダンス

中国雲南省シャングリラ – 古代都市、自然、寺院、ダンス

[Music] Hey guys, welcome to Shangriila, a legendary mountain town on the edge of the Tibetan plateau surrounded by epic landscapes and rich culture. In this video, we will show you around its beautiful ancient city, as well as take you to a few must-see locations outside of town. And of course, at the end of the video, we will have a little look at the place we stayed during our 3-day visit. So, Shangriila is located in the upper part of the Yunan province. And if you want to travel to this part of China, you should definitely pair it up with a visit to Liang as well and maybe also Dali if you have time. We had actually spent a couple of days in Liitang before we ventured out to Shangriila. And if you haven’t seen my video from Liitang, do check it out from the link at the end of this video. So, we started our trip to Shangriila from Liitang in our very comfortable rented car with plenty of room for the whole family. How are you guys back there? Good. Are you good? Maybe you guys are short. And if you think this is in the middle of nowhere with only bumpy mountain roads, well, you’re very wrong because there’s a very nice four-lane highway all the way between Litang and Shangriila. So, if you decide to travel by road, it should be a comfortable ride. And so, also for us, on the road between Liitang and Shangriila, there is one must-stop destination, and that is of course the Tiger Leaping Gorge. And why is this? Well, this is the place where the massive volumes of water from the China River is squeezed into a very narrow gorge named after a tiger that is supposed to have leaped from one side to the other back in the days. And this makes for an unforgettable show of raw natural force. To get down to the gorge, we had to take a little detour off the highway. And from a lower point in the valley, we could look up at the highway and also get a little glimpse of China’s investments in its infrastructure over the last few decades. The infrastructure towards the parking lot of this place though was not the best, as it took us quite a long time to get down there and find a place to park the car. And as with all tourist attractions in China of this magnitude, you first have to get your ticket at the visitor center and then get in line for the bus that will take you down to the attraction itself. And I must admit that this bus ride was a little bit scary as the drop on one side of the road was just a bit too close. And if you have some business to take care of after arriving at the main deck here, why not do it in this little hightech room? But for us, we still had quite a few stairs to conquer before getting down to the gorge itself. But no worries, for 7 kai, three of these disco escalators will take you all the way down to the river. And although I’ve seen many waterfalls and rivers in my life, I must admit I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sheer raw power of the water being squeezed through this narrow gorge. So after this very interesting short stop at the Tiger Liing Gorge, it was back on the highway for us for the last stretch towards Shangriila. And just as we entered the city, the altitude showed about 3,300 m above sea level. The first thing you want to see when you get to Shangriila is, of course, its beautiful ancient city. which is a bit smaller than the one in Liitang and located in the southern part of town. And the first thing you notice is its beautiful north gate. It’s really nice just walking around the ancient town. The quiet alleys, traditional wooden buildings, and the great atmosphere make it feel both peaceful and full of character. And if you think it’s a little bit quiet during daytime, just come back at night. Then it will be packed with people and full of life. This is also the time when both visitors and locals gather in the center to perform the traditional Tibetan circle dance. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Must admit though that we had left our dancing shoes at home. So, we went on for some shopping instead. And the ancient city certainly has some really interesting stuff to bring back home. The main square of Shangriila’s ancient town really comes to life at night. Up on the hill, you can see the beautifully lit temples and the giant golden prayer wheel, one of the largest in the world. This is a very popular place both for locals and tourists, and many gather here every evening to dance, socialize, and enjoy the view. We actually had planned to go up to the temples, but the line was incredibly long. So instead, we stayed down here and soaked up the atmosphere with some more dancing. [Music] One thing you will notice in Chungrila, same as in Liang, is a lot of people walking around in beautiful local costumes and taking a lot of pictures. This is actually a big business here as well. And around town, you will find several shops like this where you can buy a package that includes rental of a beautiful costume as well as a makeup session. And this is certainly something you will see much more of at the next location we will visit, which is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunam, the Sun Tangan Lin. Also sometimes referred to as Little Pala Palace because it looks a little bit like the Pala Palace in Lassa in Tibet. The visitor center for Sunlinin is actually inside the city itself. And here as well, it was a little bit difficult to find a parking lot, but after we did, we headed for the visitor center to get our tickets. And here we also met these three nice Chinese ladies who told us a little bit about how this costume rental service works. And after buying our tickets, it was onto the mandatory line to wait for the bus. And then a short but very bumpy ride up to the monastery. The base of the monastery is of course a very popular photo spot, but to get up to the temple itself, you have to climb some steps. [Music] The temple grounds are very beautiful and I think all the people dressed up in local traditional costumes adds a little bit extra to the atmosphere. [Music] You can of course also visit the inside of the monastery’s beautiful prayer halls. I actually visited this main hall at Sandan Lin 19 years ago as well. And I still vividly remember the sound of the monks sitting side by side on these benches chanting their prayers in harmony. It really created a deep and powerful sound that filled the hall and left a lasting impression. Of course, back then there wasn’t a lot of tourists here and the atmosphere was completely [Music] different. Today though, as with most of China’s popular tourist attractions, it’s quite crowded. But don’t let that discourage you because they are still well worth seeing. So, after a very interesting Buddhist experience and after enjoying the view over the rest of the Sunllin scenic area, it was time for us to head back down again. So the next day we wanted to get some really fresh air. So we headed for the Patato National Park which is only a 40 minutes drive outside of the city. And unlike several other places we visited, Pasato National Park had plenty of parking. So finding a spot was no problem at all. So, we’re here at the PA National Park and let’s check the altitude uh at my compass. 3,44 m above sea level. The design of the welcome center at Patato was very nice and well in line with the outdoor feeling. Here you could also fill up with some extra oxygen tanks before heading into the park. And after the mandatory ticket purchase and the line for the bus, it was off towards our final destination. The altitude reached almost 3,600 m above sea level before we reached our final destination, which was located a bit up in the valley and called Shudu Lake. When we arrived here, we could choose between renting a bike, a motorized vehicle, or just walk with a guide in towards the lake. And we chose to walk with the guide. He told us a little bit about the area, but as my Chinese is a little bit rusty, I must admit I didn’t get a lot of it. So, let’s talk a little bit about whether you should use oxygen or not when traveling at these altitudes. I decided not to use it as I didn’t want to become dependent on it. I did have a headache a few hours one evening, but after a couple of parasites, it went away and I didn’t have any other problems. For this guy though, he had been a little bit sick for a few days and it actually helped him quite a lot. So guess it depends a little bit about the shape you’re in at the moment and also on the altitude of course. Anyway, as we approach Shudu Lake, we passed the Tibetan cultural site where people come to live wishes and prayers. The large wooden post is carved with Tibetan mantras and the colorful flags and decorations all represents blessings for peace, health, and fortune. You can also buy these small bells and plaques, write your wish on it, and hang it on the prayer structure. [Music] When we reached the lake, we could choose between going on the boat to cross it or just walking around it. And we chose to walk. And I think that was the right choice despite the weather. It’s raining national park. [Music] We actually also learned that this place had been part of the Olympic torch relay back in 2008 when Beijing held the Olympic Summer Games. So I’m just walking a little bit off path now. And seriously, this could be in a quite normal forest in Norway actually, except for the altitude, of course. Yeah, even smells the same. Very nice. You have some here. Is this okay? I will check this later. Is it beer or is it probably something else? Maybe deer. Colin need some O2. No, it’s not O2. Is it only O H2? feels better. Yes, this you don’t need in the Norwegian forests. The national park certainly has some really beautiful and interesting nature, but after walking around for a bit at this altitude, you realize that you really need to rest a little bit more than you’re used to back at normal altitudes. There’s no need to walk all around this lake because at the other end there’s another bus station that will take us all the way back again. So, let’s then have a little look at the place we stayed during our 3-day visit. The location was up in the northern part of the city and I will probably recommend that you stay a little bit closer to the ancient city if possible. We had three rooms in the basement of this building. So this is our little room in Shangriila. Actually it’s two rooms. One room here, another little room here. This is my place. Normal. We don’t really use, but it’s here if you want. The place also had a small kitchen that made us a simple traditional Chinese breakfast every morning. So, this is a typical Chinese breakfast. Well, that’s all we have from Shangriila. Let’s leave with some more [Music] dancing. Closing, right? [Music]

In this video we will take you to Shangrila in the Yunnan Province of China. We will visit the ancient city, take you to the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan, the Songzanlin, as will as take you outside the city to Potatso National Park. Along the way you will experience close up the local culture and traditions.

– timestamps –

00:00 Introduction
01:00 Travel from Lijiang
01:37 Tiger Leaping Gorge
04:00 Shangrila Ancient City
07:00 Songzanlin Monestary
10:10 Potatso National Park
15:10 Accommodation