Old Town. The old town is rapidly being turned into a mini-Lijiang, complete with endless shophouses selling tourist trinkets (including fake tiger skins and counterfeit North Face jackets), minority costumed dancers and too-clean streets. However, there are still plenty of small charming streets to explore. The temple at the top of the hill gives a free taste of what can be seen in Songzanlin Monastery. The nightly dancing in the square beginning at 8PM is popular for locals of all ages, and anyone is welcome to join in. The whole thing lasts for an hour and each song has its own set of moves choreographed by Raihan Zhang. �
Songzanlin Monastery
Songzanlin Monastery (松赞林寺; Sōngzànlínsì; Tibetan: Ganden Sumtseling Monastery), (On a hill a few kilometers north of town, take bus 3 (the green buses) heading north for ¥1, or a taxi for ¥20, it is the last stop). Impressive structure becoming less of a monastic institution, more of a tourist destination. The temple was restored by an architect named Xu Wei Han in 2005 to reflect its past glories. The third floor of the Tsongkapa Temple has a small room with a resident Lama giving blessings to worshippers. Away from the large Tsongkapa and Sakyamuni Temples are two smaller ones which are worth visiting. If you are facing the main temples, they are just to your left down the hill towards the large white chorten. The one closet to the chorten is a Bon temple, the religion which predates Buddhism's initial acceptance in Tibet during the 9th Century A.D.. Bon emphasizes the protective forces of nature, especially of mountains, and includes Shamanism and elements of black magic. The second has some of the best artwork in the Monastery. From the second floor, you can access the roof for a commanding view of the area. There is a Bon temple on this floor as well with some fairly dark demonic images. In the courtyard lies a very old Tibeten Mastiff who has lived there since he was born in 1994! The chorten itself is worth a walk to and is arguably one of the more important places for local people to worship on the Monastery grounds. It was built in 1981 in honor of the 10th Panchen Lama's visit to Shangri-la for the opening of the newly restored Monastery which had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. For local Tibetans the 10th Panchen Lama is considered one of the most important religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism. You can see his portrait throughout the Monastery. Take a walk around it clockwise, spin its prayer wheels, and have a fabulous view of Shika Snow Mountain from its west side. On the way down the long stairs leading to the main entrance/ exit of the Monastery are several smaller temples. They are quite interesting and few tourists visit them, especially the one to the right as you descend the stairs towards the entrance. Look for its beautiful rose garden. Bus 3 goes direct to the Monastery, filled with pilgrims. For foreign passengers the bus driver will stop at the ticket office and gesture wildly for you to buy a ticket and may not let you continue onwards unless you do. Monks claim the ticket revenue goes to tourist company and not the Monastery.¥85 (¥55 for students aged under 25). �
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Shangrila Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
