Is there really Shangri-La?

Shangri-La is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province. It is the hinterland of "Shangri-La" tourist route. From Dali, 3 15km north along Yunnan-Tibet Highway, you can reach the central town of Zhongdian County, the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 659km away from Kunming, and it takes 50 minutes by plane. Diqing, in Tibetan, means "land of good luck and good luck". Located at the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the northern end of the southern section of Hengduan Mountains, in the hinterland of "Three Parallel Rivers", it has formed a unique landscape integrating snow-capped mountains, canyons, grasslands, alpine lakes, virgin forests and ethnic customs, and is a multi-functional tourist scenic spot. There are many snow-capped mountains in the scenic area, such as Kage Peak, the highest peak in Yunnan Province. Zhongdian County alone has 470 snow-capped mountain canyons with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. The most famous are the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Jinsha River and the Lancang River Gorge. There are also vast alpine grassland pastures, vast virgin forests and dotted alpine lakes, which make Diqing's natural landscape magical, steep and beautiful.

SHANGRI-LA means "the sun and moon in my heart" in Tibetan, while shangri-la in English is a Chinese transliteration, and the English pronunciation comes from the Tibetan dialect in the hinterland of Shangri-La.

There are Tibetan, Yi, Han, Naxi, Yi, Bai and Hui nationalities living here 13. They are United and harmonious, maintaining their own characteristics in traditional customs such as lifestyle, costumes, residential buildings and wedding etiquette, and forming their own unique customs.

The word "Shangri-La" is a land of eternal peace and tranquility described by American novelist james hilton in his novel The Lost Horizon. This is a paradise, with snow-capped valleys, splendid and mysterious temples, quiet lakes surrounded by forests, beautiful grasslands and flocks of cattle and sheep. However, Diqing vividly owns everything described in james hilton's book. Coincidentally, the word "Shangri-La" is the Tibetan language of Zhongdian in Diqing, which means "the sun and moon in my heart". It is the ideal living environment and supreme realm in the eyes of Tibetans. Diqing Plateau is the "Shangri-La" that people have been looking for for for half a century.

"The earliest place where the sun shines is Jiantang in the East, and the most unique place on earth is Shangri-La by the nipple river." Since the publication of the novel Lost Horizon by British James, Shangri-La described in the novel has aroused the yearning of countless people. According to textual research, Shangri-La actually refers to Yunnan Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Diqing is located in the center of the National Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area, including Zhongdian, Weixi and Deqin counties, among which Zhongdian is its capital (the above-mentioned Jiantang is the county seat of Zhongdian). There are many towering mountains in this area. The famous Kage Peak is the highest peak in Yunnan, with an altitude of 6740 meters. It is a pilgrimage site of Tibetan Buddhism, ranking first among the eight sacred mountains in Tibetan areas. The rest are surrounded by Prince Snow Mountain, Baimang Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain.

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, there are many large and small meadows and dams, which are the places where people of all ethnic groups in Diqing live and multiply, with fertile land and flocks of cattle and sheep. In this quiet land, there are quiet lakes, sacred temples and simple Kangba people. Everything is like Shangri-La, the Garden of Eden in people's dreams.

200165438+February 17 the State Council approved Zhongdian County in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to be renamed Shangri-La County.

You don't have to go to Tibet to appreciate the customs of Tibet. Diqing not only has the scenery of the snow-capped mountains and valleys on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Tibetan customs, but also has the magnificent scenery of the Inner Mongolia prairie with grass blowing and low cattle and sheep.

Shangri-La, located in Diqing, Yunnan, with an altitude of 3,280 meters, will allow people from low-altitude countries and regions to enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature and ethnic customs more comfortably without worrying about "mountain reaction".

Snow-capped mountains, vast grasslands, bright red scopolamine, mysterious Lama Temple ... What will this paradise look like in the eyes of foreigners?

The word "Shangri-La" comes from the kingdom of Shambhala in Tibetan scriptures. In the history of Tibetan Buddhism, it is widely called the highest realm of "pure king". In modern vocabulary, it is also synonymous with "Eden, Utopia and Xanadu". According to Tibetan scriptures, it is hidden in a secret place deep in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The whole kingdom is surrounded by double snow-capped mountains and consists of eight lotus petal-shaped areas. The snow-capped mountain, which also stands in the center, was originally named Karaba Palace, where the supreme leader of Shambhala kingdom lived. The legendary Shangri-La is the sage with the highest wisdom. They are tall and have natural strength. Up to now, they still communicate with the world through a secret passage called "the navel of the earth" from places that people can't see, and firmly control the world. In fact, for a long time, this mysterious "navel of the earth" passage has been the key to finding Shangri-La and the only way to reach Shangri-La Kingdom.

James hilton's novel The Lost Horizon tells the story of four westerners, including Conway, who were taken to the Blue Moon Valley in Shangri-La by a mysterious oriental hijacker when they were transferred to Peshawar from a place called Basku in the South Asian subcontinent during the war. Throughout Shangri-La described in the novel, various faiths coexist peacefully, and there are Christian churches, Buddhist temples, Taoist temples and Confucian ancestral temples everywhere. People adhere to the doctrine of the mean, and maintain a doctrine of the mean for everything, even for happiness. Shangri-La is a natural scenery-snow-capped mountains, glaciers, canyons, forests, meadows, lakes and wealth-rich in gold mines and pure air. It is a beautiful, clear, safe, leisure, long-distance, satisfying, quiet and harmonious destination for all beautiful human ideals. Here, in fact, Shangri-La has become an ideal country with a kind of harmony and tranquility. When this novel was published by Macmillan Publishing Company in London, England in April 1934, it caused an unexpected sensation among publishers and writers in Europe and soon sold well in the United States, Japan and other countries. After the novel was published, it was immediately made into a movie by a Hollywood production company with unique vision. This film is popular all over the world, and the theme song Shangri-La is sung all over the world. Later, the word Shangri-La was bought out by the Kwok family, a Hong Kong-Singapore entrepreneur, and became a hotel firm, which became popular all over the world and became one of the highest symbols of global hotel brands, confirming the great significance of Lost Horizon in humanities. The lost horizon has become the peach blossom source of westerners. The great significance of Lost Horizon lies in that it has implanted the artistic conception of paradise on earth into western cultural values. As the British Writers' Dictionary pointed out when commenting on the Lost Horizon, its merit lies in creating the word Shangri-La, a "paradise" for English vocabulary. Since then, this imaginary paradise on earth has become synonymous with Eden, Xanadu and Utopia.

At this point, the understanding of the East and the West is roughly the same, and so are China's "Xanadu" and "Utopia", both of which show people's pursuit of beautiful things and yearning for peace and harmony. Shangri-la first rose in the west. First of all, it is worth noting that "The Lost Horizon" was written after World War I, when World War II was about to begin. At this time, the western economy was not very prosperous, and the people were generally in ecstasy, which can be proved from the social background of Hitler's coming to power. People generally want to be rich, but in reality they can't get this satisfaction. This is a spiritual desire. It is also the deep social background of the emergence and sensation of Lost Horizon. Just like today's real society, people's yearning and helplessness for the real society can be seen from the hit of anti-corruption blockbusters and the secret history of the Qing Dynasty. The topic is too far from the point.

Back to the point, the first thing to say is:

A, tranquility and harmony is the theme of Shangri-La, which is a very abstract thing and can exist in people's minds, imagination and desires. But it may not be true. Because james hilton is a writer, not a historian, not a historian.

B, james hilton himself has never been to this place. The material of his novels comes from Locke's adventure photos, diaries and records of American and Austrian ancestry. Speaking of which, I can't help but mention Locke. He is a professor of botany at the University of Hawaii. He came to the southwest border of China for botanical research at the invitation of National Geographic magazine. He was buried in Old Town of Lijiang, China, China in the 1920s, but he was deeply attracted by the simple local culture, heavy history and diverse folk customs. He stayed for nearly 30 years and didn't want to leave until liberation.

C, in addition, it is worth mentioning that the end of this novel is similar to the Peach Blossom Garden in China. It is also the time when Sixi people want to return again after leaving, so they can't go back and find the old road.

D it is also worth noting that Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity are mentioned in the novel. Buddhism is not enough, because Tibetan Buddhism is widely spread in the snowy plateau of China. Among them, Taoism and Confucianism can be said to be China's unique humanistic meditation. Christianity also exists in the southwest border of China. Since19th century, western missionaries have been engaged in this activity in the southwest border of China. Today, there are Christian churches in some places in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, such as the famous Cizhong Church.

E. Shangri-La mentioned in the article is a transliteration of Shambhala in Tibetan. It is also mentioned in the article that his meaning is quiet and beautiful, and the meaning of the sun and the moon in my heart is exactly the same as that of Shambhala in Tibetan.

To sum up the above points, scholars now generally believe that Shangri-La is a yearning place and an ideal country, which may not really exist, just like the Peach Blossom Garden in China. However, its prototype is in the Hengduan Mountains in the southwest of China, so it is generally believed that the Tibetan area at the junction of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet is the Shangri-La described by Hilton, because Locke has lived in this area for decades. This Sichuan-Yunnan-Tibet region generally includes Lijiang, Lugu Lake, Shangri-La (Zhongdian in Diqing, Yunnan), Meili Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, the last Shangri-La (Yading in Daocheng, Sichuan), Lugu Lake, Gongga Mountain, Beauty Valley in Danba, Sun Valley (Derong, Sichuan), Xiangcheng, Mangkang, Qamdo, Bomi, Motuo and Yarlung Zangbo River. The scenery in this area is generally consistent with the description in Lost Horizon, especially the distinctive things mentioned in the book can be found here. Such as; Meili Snow Mountain, Daocheng Aden Sanshen Mountain, etc. But there is no specific mention of a place.

Now there is a place in Yunnan called Shangri-La, which was renamed by Zhongdian, the state capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, at 200 1. This is not to say that Shangri-La mentioned in the book is here, but a decision made by the local government to develop the tourism economy. Speaking of this Shangri-La, there is another anecdote: as early as the 1970s, news kept coming out, and Shangri-La was discovered in India, Nepal and other places. However, it was later considered to be a hype about the demand of tourism economy, rather than a strict academic certification. It can be said that Yunnan has long recognized the role of tourism development in promoting the economy, such as 1999 World Expo. He first asked the central government to approve the renaming of Shangri-La. When the Sichuan government realized the importance of tourism economy, the name of Shangri-La was irrevocable, so the Sichuan government renamed Ziwa Township in Aden, Daocheng, Sichuan as Shangri-La Township, which was not enough. It also added a prefix to Daocheng Aden-the last Shangri-La, which is not enough. It also awarded Daocheng Yading Shambala the most authentic name, because the name change of county-level cities requires the approval of the central government, and it is not good to change it without authorization. This is the origin and inside story of a family dispute in Shangri-La. Of course, with so many Shangri-La, don't forget the local peach blossom garden. Of course, the Peach Blossom Garden in China was earlier, but when the economic strength of modern China has not yet affected the world economy, the pioneering advantages of ancient culture may not be fully understood by the world. To paraphrase an old saying of China, foreign monks can recite scriptures.

Today, the beauty of Shangri-La has penetrated into the hearts of everyone who has been to this area. On this snowy plateau, there are world-famous Meili Snow Mountain, Daocheng Yading Sanshen Mountain, endless plateau meadows, different ethnic songs and dances, unique folk traditional art, mysterious multi-religious culture, and many unique ethnic groups and colorful folk customs, which will always inspire people to find their own Shangri-La, whether in reality or in ideal.