| Description: | Lies 190 kilometers further northwest to Lijiang, Shangri-La is a Tibetan inhabited region, In 1939, the British novelist James Hilton wrote a book named "Lost Horizon", in which he described a paradise-like and peaceful land and he named it Shangri-La. According to the historical record, in 1944 there was indeed an American transport plane which crashed in the town of Zhongdian in Yunnan while flying over the Sino-Indian air route. After a careful investigation into these events, it was determined that the beautiful "Shangri-La" described in "Lost Horizon" is, in fact, the county of Zhongdian.
Main Scenic Spots
Bitahai Lake: A plateau lake which stands at an elevation of 3539 meters and it is 25 kilometers away from the town. There are big trees that cast shadows on the lake and it reflects a charming landscape which varies in four seasons. It is most fascinating when intoxicated fish floating in the lake after they eat azalea petals.
Napahai Lake: A seasonal lake which lies on the northwestern grassland of 8 kilometers away from the town. Whenever autumn comes, birds will come and they would fly over and stay around the tents of herdsmen casually.
Gandansongzanlin Monastery: A Tibetan Buddhist temple which is 3 kilometers away from town and it was built in Ming Dynasty as one of the 13 big Lamaist temples in the region. The monastery is composed of well-arranged flat-roof houses row on row from the foot to the top of the hill, like a neatly set-up castle. Wild Elephant Valley: A nature reserve for tropical primeval rainforests and wildlife. In the jungles here live about 70 wild Asian elephants. Wild elephants usually come out at night, so people built a small hotel on tops of trees in forest for tourists who want to observe wild elephants closely.
Manfeilong White Stupas: A group of stupas which are located at Manfeilong Village of 67 kilometers away from Jinghong city and they were built in 1204. The stupas are very famous in southeast Asia and there is a huge footprint in its niche there which was said to be left by Buddha and it is very sacred to Buddhists.
Ganlanba: An area lying by Mekong River where you can see the most typical Dai villages and picturesque countryside views.
Tropical Botanical Garden: A garden which is located on Gourd Island of Menglun township, 96 kilometers from Jinghong city and it covers an area of around 900 hectares. More than 3000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants from home and abroad grow there.
Octagonal Pavilion: An architecture displaying craftsmanship of Dai people, 80 kilometers away from Jinghong and it served as a meeting room for senior monks.
Mekong River: A river which is 1187.5 kilometers long in Xishuangbanna and its upper reach is 135 kilometers long from Jinghong to Tiger Leaping Gorge and the lower reach is 40 kilometers in length from Jinghong to Ganlanba. |
