| Shangri La/Xian ge li la | |
|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2005 17:03 |   |
 | Hi, I won't actually be able to get to Tibet but i have heard that Deqin is the original Shangri La and I'd really like to go. I know the road is difficult, does anyone know of a way to get there? Or if it's even possible in March/April? Cheers |
| Feb 28, 2005 17:20 | #1 |
| For the way to Shangri_La(Diqing), the land distance from Kunming to Diqing is 720km, and will need 12 hours' drive. From Dali is 300km. From Lijiang is 187km, while the road was under construction last year, not sure if it is ok now. There are also daily flights from Kunming to Shangri-La, which will take you less than one hour. No train there now. |
| Feb 28, 2005 20:06 | #2 |
| Thankyou ever so much for the help Anthea. I think I will try to get there. Maybe I'll break up the journey at Dali and Lijiang as I also wanted to see them. Perhaps I can find some news about the road on the internet now I know that I should check/look. Thanks again |
| Mar 1, 2005 03:02 | #3 |
| Hi Francesca, Shangri-La is just fiction (read James Hiltons Lost Horizon and so on....). The Chinese Bureau for Tourism just chose a place (a nice one though) and called it Shangri-La for Marketing strategical reasons! They published articles claiming that the Shangri-La has been discovered.....sensational! ..........and clever business! Don? get fooled by names without meanings. But that should not stop you from your nice trip. Have fun! |
| Mar 1, 2005 09:02 | #4 |
| Besides air plan, i would recommend long range coach. Despite the name and the story or tricks behind it, the way toward Shanggri La is beautiful. |
| Mar 1, 2005 13:29 | #5 |
| Hi guys Cheers for the advice. It's quite amusing, I had this converstation with my Chinese students so was aware of the name/reality clash. I was asking for advice on where to go and they all said Xian ge li la. I couldn't hear it at first and then they wrote it down, told me it was the most beautiful place in China, then I connected the sound to Shangri La and told them that in the West it is considered a mythical place, that it wasn't real, the place where dreams come true and they were persuading me that it was a real place. Then someone else told me that it is actually the whole of Tibet that is Shangri La. I love following up on literary allusions (it's one of the reasons I like Italy so much); that whole question of the chicken and the egg, does something exist or does it become something because people BELIEVE it exists, eg: God? When does fiction become reality? That's why I decided I wanted to go to Deqin. The Chinese government, I'm sure they will have chosen a beautiful place. Like you said Mermaid, the scenery must be beautiful to try and convince anyone it is Shangri La! Anyway, all this philosophising may come to nothing, I'm not sure my funds will last long enough to get there!! I suppose reality has to intrude even in the personal quest for Shangri La. I'll try and keep a rein on my romantic idealism. Elcabron,thankyou for the reality check, Mermaid, thankyou for keeping the dream alive, perhaps its the journey that counts not the destination. Woah, long post, I'll stop now. Bye |
| Mar 1, 2005 16:16 | #6 |
| For one thing, i guess few of those students have ever been there. The place should be good if not the overtouristy. I went there last august and the city of Diqing was dusty. The mountains, falls, rivers along the hilly road were great, though. The tibetan dishes there are worth trying. |
| Mar 1, 2005 17:31 | #7 |
| Oh you would love this fake Butterfly-Grotto in Yangshuo, too;-)))) Try the real one, go to Tibet! |
| Mar 1, 2005 19:00 | #8 |
| Elcabron I suspect you are laughing at my whimsy! Will I see the the real Butterfly Grotto or the real Shangri La if I go to Tibet? :-) Cos the latter doesn't exist remember. Who is to say anything is real- if in fact we exist at all?! |
| Mar 1, 2005 22:45 | #9 |
| So does the Butterfly fairy tale. I am not laughing at you.....maybe with you! |
| Mar 1, 2005 23:54 | #10 |
| Oh, only MAYBE with me!!!! No, that's cool. I thought (hoped??? ;-) you were laughing with me. No, seriously I did think we were on the same wavelength. Glad I was right. Why does the butterfly of the fairy tale exist at all? |
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