Shangri-La: Ganden Sumtseling Monastery and Pudacuo National Park.

[the_grynne]

For the last 9 days, I have been in Yunnan Province, in the southwest part of China, spending time in both Kunming, the provincial capital, and Shangri-La County, capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Formally Zhongdian County, it was renamed "Shangri-La", after the fictional Buddhist utopia in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, in 2001

Comments

[rodlox]

glad to hear from you again.

looks like the repairs are going well.

>yak
the first photo of them, it startled me...maybe it was the long legs, but I didn't realize that was a yak. (a cow, maybe)

>Lake Shudu
sadly, the only thing I could think of, was "rhymes with Pudu?" (South American deer)

...well, that and "oh that mud's going to grab your boots right off."

keep having fun, continue staying safe, and always be well.

[the_grynne]

Yaks are very, very cute. Especially baby yaks. I have a photo of a baby yak on my iPhone, which I've yet to copy to my computer.

Also: yaks are yummy. *g*

We weren't allowed to walk on the grass/field, actually. There are roads for special buses throughout the national park, and the only places visitors allowed to walk on are the wooden paths (in one photo above), which only through certain areas of the park. I assume the rules are different for certain Tibetans who have rights to use the park.

[calculare]

I am envious. *sighs*

[the_grynne]

I want to go back! The weather was so perfect compared to the terrible Shanghai heat.

[missus_emm]

Wow. It looks like paradise there!!! I am definitely itching to get into nature as these photos are tugging at my heart strings. I would have been rather partial to the yak too, I am certain.

[the_grynne]

It certainly felt that way!!

Partial as in "find cute" or "find delicous"? ;)

[missus_emm]

Partial as in find cute. Although, I do like eating game too. Do they make yak jerky?

[trailer_spot]

Thanks for uploading the pictures! Some of them could've been taken here in the Blackwood Forest. Well, minus the yaks. :)

About how high is this place?

[the_grynne]

Among our group, we also made comparisons with New England and Norway.

The hotel where we were staying was about 3400m above sealevel, while the highest point in Pudacuo National park was 4200m.

[notexotic]

Thank you for sharing these!

[the_grynne]

You're welcome!