Old name: Zhongdian, Tibetan for Jiantang
Population: 130,000
Area: 11,613 square kilometers (4,484 square miles)
Location: Shangri-la County lies in the eastern part of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It shares boundaries with Daocheng County of Sichuan Province in the east, and Lijiang in the south.
History: According to archeological discoveries, the history of the people living in this area can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-771BC). Several tribes successively inhabited this remote region over hundreds of years. It was during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) that Shangri-la made contact with Central China. The whole world came to know the name Shangri-La since it was proved to be the Eden that James Hilton depicted in his Lost Horizon.
Physical Features: Located in the southern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the hinterland of Hengduan Mountains and the Three Parallel Rivers of the Yunnan Protected Area. Snow-covered mountains, alpine lakes, gorges, and pastures make up the main landforms of the county.
Shangri-La In 1939, American novelist James Hilton wrote a book named Lost Horizon, in which he described a paradise-like and peaceful land where there are snow-mountains and deep valleys, brilliant temples and halls, green forest and clear lakes, a crowds of ox and sheep on the wide grasslands. He named the place Shangeri-La. What a coincidence it is that there is such a place in Yunnan Province of China. That is Diqing. Moreover, there is a word pronounced Shangri-La by local Xizang (Tibetan) people who live in Zhongdian of Diqing that means "moon and sun in heart". Shangri-La is an ideal place to spend their life. May Diqing be Shangri La that all people in the world are expecting to find.
 Kagebo Peak located at an elevation of 6,740 meters, is the highest peak in Yunnan. Its meaning in Tibetan is ˇ°the white snow mountain". From the Feilai Temple 10km east of Deqin County in Diqing Prefecture, ranges after ranges of magnificent snow can be seen. That is the Meili Sown Mountains, on which there are thirteen peaks of over 6, 00 meters in elevation named Thirteen Taizi (Prince) Peaks, among which Kagebo Peak in the shape of a pyramid is the highest peak and overlooks others.Kagebo Peak is the Tibetan Buddhist Holy Land where people go on a pilgrimage. The legend says that it is the protection God of Jiajuba, one branch of the Ningma religious sect, and ranks first among the eight sacred mountains in the Tibetan area.
In October, 1989, the tenth Panchen Lama, Great Master of Tibetan Buddhism, held a grand religious meeting in front of Kagebo Peak, and now a stone tablet and a pagoda stand there welcoming tourists. Also, at the foot of it, there are continuous glaciers and cirques known as the Modern Glaciers in the low latitude. Because of the precipitous massifs and perpetual snow, there are snow slides, dense fogs, heavy rain and fierce wind, and it is still a ˇ°virgin peak" which none has conquered. In January 1991, 17 Chinese and Japanese climbers died in an accident, and a monument was set up in front of the Feilai Temple for people to visit and ponder over the past
 Bitahai Lake is a provincial nature reserve, located 25km east of the seat of Zhongdian County .It occupies a total area of 840 square kilometers with the Bitahai Lake as the center of this scenic spot, its length from the north to south is about 60km and the width from the east to the west is 14km. The elevation of the Bitahai Lake surface is 3,539 meters, and the length of the lake from the east to the west is 3,000 meters. The average depth of the lake is 20 meters, with the maximum depth of 40 meters. The total water area is 159 hectares, which is very clear and tranquil. If you row a boat on the water on a fine day, you will see the water world 10 meters below. Around the lake there are thick oak trees and "Bita" means in Tibetan the oak woods, and "Bitahai" means a quiet lake. The local Tibetans believe that it appeared when a fairy lady dropped her miracle mirror on this place. In the novel ˇ°The Lost Horizon" James Hills depicts it as a "Blue Lakeˇ±, an essential part of "Shangri-La".
 The Tiger Leaping Gorge has another name as "Jinshapiliuˇ±. It stands in the south-east of Zhongdian County and the north of Lijiang County, just on the section of the Jinsha River between the Haba Snow Mountains and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, 105 km away from Zhongdian County, and 100km away from Lijiang County.The Tiger Leaping Gorge is famous in the world for its majesty and grotesquery. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is a ravine of 20 meters long which is formed by the corroding of the Jinsha River here. It has resulted from the fracture of the stratum while the Himalayan Mountains were being thrust upwards. The whole gorge is divided into the Upper Gorge, the Middle Gorge, and the Lower Gorge. The altitude at the valley bottom is 1,800 meters, while the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains and the Haba Snow Mountains are 5,596 meters and 5,396
meters above sea level, with the largest difference in altitude being more than 3,700m, and the depth of the valley is in the front rank in the world. On both sides of the valley there are mountains rising straight up, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow, and whose feet are precipitous. If you stand on the cliffs, you can see precipices above your head and a slight opening of the sky when you look up, and you can see a river is running just like a dragon, bubbling furiously and grasping your heart. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is not only deep but also narrow. The narrowest point at the Upper Gorge is only a bit over 20 meters. Right in the middle of the rive there is a tiger-leaping stone; hence the name. At this part of the river, the rapids are split by the huge stone, and the roar of the angry waves echoes up and down the valley. The drop from the Upper Gorge to the Lower Gorge is more than 210 meters. The river runs so fast that the speed reaches 6-8 meters a second. The Tiger-Leaping Gorge not only brings up the rare and wonderful sights for the world but also holds in store many resources. Some experts have pointed out that two super-hydropower stations with an installed capacity of 600 kw can be set up there. |
