Zhongdian, Yunnan Province, China
Travelogue entry from September 17-20, 2003
We left Lijiang, in Yunnan, on the 17th and knew we were on our way to the Tibetan world as three tough looking men with felt hats, colorful wool jackets and knives sat down in front of us. One of the men, the one with the purple hat, ate 2 big potatoes as we pulled out of town. We were really hoping that he was better at keeping his food down on long bus trips than we were. I kept an eye on these guys the whole trip as they burned through their cigarettes, and it was so fun to watch them get excited and crane their necks for each yak, stupa, or forest that we passed. It was surprising. We were soon in Zhongdian.
Now, for Zhongdian. The Chinese government has designated this little provincial capital “Shangrila” though the areas with big snowy mountains as a backdrop are another 6 hours away. As one Chinese tourist told me, “it may not be as beautiful here, but the beautiful places are harder for the tourists to get to”. The government is building a big new road, which is not yet finished, and is helping to make the town look more like a western ski village than the run of the mill Chinese trading hub it used to be.
Pink, red and yellow Tibetan patterns now cap the otherwise boring Chinese buildings and at the southern end of town, the actual Tibetan village can be found with cobbled streets and big sturdy wooden houses leaning this and that way. We came across a lot of art students in the old part of town. I’m guessing they were from a Chinese art university, and it was refreshing to see Chinese appreciating the town in the same way that I would. We found most of the other Chinese tourists at the monastery north of town. It was buzzing with construction aimed at making it more tourist friendly. The walk back to town, through barley fields rustling with locals busy harvesting, was redeeming.
