Pudacuo (also known as Potatso) National Park in Shangri-La

14 September 2024

We had only one full day to explore the sights around Shangri-La before leaving for Kunming at night. Two of the attractions that we visited on this day were the Potatso National Park and the Songzanlin Monastery.

Located about 21 km to the east of Shangri-La city, Potatso National Park is famous for clear lakes, green meadows, streams, wetlands, forests, rare plants and rare animals. I was looking forward to enjoying some hiking and taking some photos of their renowned landscape and nature in this park.

From our hotel located on the edge of Dukezong Ancient town, we travelled by car for about 40 minutes to Potatso National Park. The park is also known as Pudacuo National Park and is the first national park on the Chinese mainland. 

Entrance to Potatso National Park.

While waiting for our guide to purchase the entry tickets, we went to buy some coffee and saw a stall selling the yak meat skewers. The yak is a kind of hairy ox native to the part of the Tibetan plateau that stretches into Yunnan Province. Since we had yet to try the grilled yak meat, we were glad to make use of the opportunity to try some.

We were the stall’s first customer for the day. The lady manning the stall grilled just one skewer that my son ordered without any fuss. After the skewer was cooked, she added spices like salt, chilli and pepper powder onto it.

Yak meat is not cheap at 15 RMB per skewer.

Happy with his yak meat skewer and morning coffee.

We saw the map of the park.

Map of Potatso National Park. Shudu Lake is the lake located in the top part of this map while Bita Lake is the lake located on the bottom right.

In the 500 square meters park, there are three main scenic areas open to visitors: Bita Lake in the south, Shudu Lake which is a part of Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area in the north and Militang Alpine Pasture in the middle.

From the entrance, we had to take a green sightseeing bus. These sightseeing buses run among these scenic spots and stop at fixed stations as shown in the map. Travel route in the park is about 69 kilometers and it would takes about 4 to 6 hours to cover all the spots. Since we only had the morning to spend at the park, our guide recommended that we see Shudu Lake only.

There is commentary in Chinese, delivered by a lady with a microphone in the bus, as we travelled to Shudu Lake. It was about a 20 minutes’ scenic ride from the bus stop near the park entrance to Shudu Lake. By the time we arrived at Shudu Lake, it was almost 10.30 AM.

There is a nice 3.3 km long wooden walkway along the shore of this lake, making it easy to navigate. Visitors can also opt to take a boat ride on the lake. 

Guide map of the 3.3 km Shudu Lake walkway. We started our walk at the bottom part of the trail and headed northwards long the path marked in yellow. 

We saw some wetlands at the initial part of the trail. The water from Shudu Lake actually drains out from this area. The weather was cloudy, cool and windless. This is a perfect place to soak in the fresh air and beauty all around us. It is also a perfect place for landscape photographers where there are rolling hills covered with forest, reflecting off the surface of the still water.

Tibetan prayer flags and good luck charms hanging from racks.

We were lucky to be able to see a flock of white eared pheasants. Although wild, they came close to the path and we were able to get good close up views of these birds.

 White eared pheasants in Potatso National Park. 

Unfortunately, we did not have close encounters with the free ranging yaks and horses at Shudu Lake.

More views of the epic wetlands.

The pier for those choosing to go for a lake cruise. 

We were impressed by the scenery at Shudu Lake. Although the lake is at an altitude of 3,595 meters above sea level, we did not experience any ill effects of altitude sickness.

      

Shudu Lake as one of the biggest lakes in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is 3,595 meters above the sea level. 

We saw an impressive white-hair yak that was used for photos. The guy would help visitors up on the back of the yak for a photo shoot with the gorgeous scenery in the background. He also sang some local folk songs while the photographs were taken, adding to the country vibes.

This was the only yak that we saw up close.

It was not crowded during our visit. We could enjoy a leisurely walk along the lake shore. We stopped often to snap photos of the landscape. Unfortunately, we did not spot any yaks, horses or other animals along the boardwalk at this area.

Boardwalk along the shore of Shudu Lake was not crowded during our visit. 

Couple in traditional costumes in front of us.

Wild flowers on the green grass.

      Part of the boardwalk is over water. 

The later part of the trail is through a pine forest. Some of the pine trees in this area are huge.

Heading into the pine forest at this area of the trail.

We met some fearless chipmunks who came onto the boardwalk hoping for some food.

A couple of squirrels came to play on the walkway and are not afraid of the visitors.

Some other visitors threw some nuts to them and we soon hear an announcement in Chinese” over the loudspeaker:  “Do not to feed the animals”. Big brother is watching!

Some of the pine trees are so tall and straight. The trunks are perfect for used as columns in the wooden houses.

      This tree is larger than it looked on photo. 

The forest also has some unique sights such as the “tree beards”. These are light greyish green lichen that hangs from the branches of some trees, giving an impression that the trees have beards.

Lichen hanging from tree branches that made it looked like the tree has beard.   

Dead trees on the shore due to past flooding.

These roots from the dead trees are interesting photo subjects.

These dead tree trunks added some interest into the foreground of the landscape photo.

 

The trail ended at Pier 3, which is also a stop for those who go on the boat cruise. From the pier, we could see a green meadow across the lake with many tiny black dots. These dots are yaks and horses.

From the 3rd pier, we saw yaks and horses roaming on the meadow across the lake. I believe this could be Militang Pasture.

Zoomed in photo of the free ranging yaks and wild horses.

Looking at the map on the Pier 3, I noted that there is an eco hiking trail that leads from the initial bus station to the meadow, along the northwestern shore of the lake. I would have loved to hike on this trail, if only we had the whole day at the park!

Map showing the boat routes, hiking trails around Shudu Lake. 

It was already slightly past noon time when we took the shuttle bus back to the entrance. Overall, we had spent about 90 minutes at Shudu Lake and it was a great experience.

If only we had time to spend a whole day at Potatso National Park. 

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Evening in Shangri-La’s Dukezong Ancient Town

13 September 2024

Shangri-La is only 200 km north of Lijiang and is well connected to Lijiang by car or train. It is worthwhile to spend some time in this city when visiting Yunnan. For us, we travelled to Shangri-La by car after our overnight night at Tiger Leaping Gorge.

We arrived at Shangri-La at about 6.30 PM, having travelled by car from Tiger Leaping Gorge. As we drove in the city from the South, we saw a large white stupa from our car. A stupa is a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine highlighting the fact that the people in this area are pre-dominantly Buddhists.

The iconic Harmony Tower in Shangri-La. Our guide told us there is a smaller stupa within the large white stupa.

Shangri-La used to be called Zhongdian (中甸) but the name was changed to match the mystical place James Hilton talked about in his famous novel Lost Horizon. Although Shangri-La is part of Yunnan, visiting Shangri-La is like visiting Tibet with lots of Tibetan temples, Tibetan people and a chance to experience Tibetan culture and food. There are 13 ethnic groups living harmoniously on this land and the main group is Tibetan. Our guide who accompanied us for our hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge lives in Shangri-La and is an ethnic Tibetan.

One of the best places to visit and stay in Shangri-La is at the 1,300 years old Dukezong Ancient Town. Dukezong is one of the oldest parts of the region and was first constructed in the 7th century as a stopping point on the Tea Horse trade route.

Unfortunately, a fire in 2014 destroyed a large part of the town, so what we see today is a newly reconstructed “old town”. Although the “body” could be new and reconstructed but the “soul and spirit” of the town remains. There is still plenty for first time visitors like us to experience.

Where we stayed in Shangri-la

Our hotel at Shangri-La is the 5th Meteorite Lightyear Hotel located in the northwest corner of Dukezong ancient city, just next to the North gate which is the main gateway of the ancient city.

A large black meteorite was displayed in the lobby. The signage said:

“According to legend, 5 meteorites representing courage, wisdom, love, health and luck once landed in Shangri-la. The first four were kept by local celebrities while the fifth one representing luck was missing.  Local venerable elders once said that people who has seen this lucky meteorite and prayed piously in front of it would be blessed by the gods. Decades later, the fifth meteorite reappeared in China and has been preserved in Dukezong Romantic Village sine 2017. To carry forward the good luck of the fifth Meteorite and covey its blessings to tourists, the 5th Meteorite Hotels and Resorts is established.”

Is this a replica or the real fifth meteorite in the glass case?

This hotel has very local Tibetan decor. 

We had a large room located on the second floor. Since Shangri-La is located at a high altitude above 3,000 meters, people who are not used to this altitude could suffer from altitude sickness. Hence, the room which came with oxygen supply which was a bonus.

The large room is equipped with oxygen regulator and a heating humidifier.

 

Dinner at Three’s Brother Cafe

From our hotel, it was a short walk to the main square of the Dukezong where we heard music and saw people dancing.

We had told our guide that we wanted to try the local cuisine. He brought us to the highly raved Three Brother’s Cafe that serves Western and Tibetan food. 

Entrance to the Three Brother’s Cafe. The restaurant is on the second floor.

The host speaks English and provided us with the English menu. We cannot come to Shangri-La and not try the yak meat. The yak or hairy ox (牦牛) is a large domesticated wild ox with shaggy hair used in Tibet as a pack animal and for its milk, meat, and hide. 

We ordered the following dishes:

Sizzling yak meat on a hot plate for 58 RMB. Yak meat taste like lean beef.

Three Brother’s Vegetable Balls with Sauce for 38 RMB. The menu included an option for these without the sauce. This is a tasty dish with delicious sauce.

Tibetan Yak Momo for 48 RMB. The menu included Yak Cheese Momo as well, available for the same price.

The yak momo is like the steamed pork buns we had in Singapore except the meat is yak instead of pork.

Our host served us some home-made chilli sauce that went very well with the food.

The restaurant provided beautiful tableware that came hygienically wrapped in paper envelopes.

Our guide recommends that we try their local Tibetan wheat beer. We ordered three bottles to taste: namely the Pale Ale, Songa and Fat Dolma, each with different alcohol content and prices. 

From left to right: Songa, Fat Dolma and Tibetan Pale Ale.

One of the highlights that occur in the evening within the old town is the folk dances that take place every evening at the town square known as Sifang Street. Local residents gather to perform Tibetan folk dances, holding hands, forming circles, and following the lead dancers. Anyone, including visitors, could join in.

The cafe is located next to the town square and we could sit in the terrace overlooking the streets and watch the people enjoying their dance in the town square below us.

The cafe has a terrace with views of the street and the town square.

We watched the locals dancing in the town square while waiting for the orders to the prepared.

Excellent food and beer at this cafe.

After a long day hiking at Tiger Leaping Gorge and travelling to Shangri-la, we had a relaxing time and excellent meal at the Three Brother’s Cafe. The food is good and reasonably priced. In fact, we came back to this cafe for a yak hotpot dinner the next day.

Exploring Dukezong Ancient Town at night.

After our meal, we had time to wander and explore the town on our own. Shops were still opened and we saw many yak products and souvenirs for sale.

Stall selling Grilled Durians from South-East Asia. This is not the way we consume durians in South East Asia. 

Food Street in the old town for those looking for local street food which included yak meat on skewers.

Interesting souvenirs include the small hand-held golden prayers wheels, bells and even traditional Tibetan swords!

Prayer wheels are used by many Tibetans everyday. According to Tibetan Buddhism, the more mantras are chanted, the more devotion to the Buddha is expressed, and the suffering of reincarnation can be freed. Therefore, in addition to orally reciting the prayers, Tibetan people put the mantras into the prayer wheels. They believe that every turn of the wheel will have the same meritorious effect as reading the sutra once. The prayer wheel should be turned clockwise.   

We saw a white stupa in the old town with prayer wheels all round. This stupa was not destroyed in the fire of 2014 but some of the surrounding buildings were.Stupa in the middle of Dukezong Old Town.

The prayer wheel should be turned clockwise.

     

Guishan Park and the Giant Prayer Wheel

We found our way to Guishan (龟山) Park or Turtle Hill, using maps that are displayed in the town. Since the weather was good, we wanted to see the famous Giant Prayer Wheel of Shangri-La. It was easy to find since it is over 21 meters high and shines like a golden beacon in the night sky.

Entrance to Guishan Park is from Moonlight Square (月光廣場). It is another place in town where locals do their nightly dancing. Also located in the square is the Red Army Long March Museum with some statues of Tibetan monks with soldiers of the Long March outside. The dancing had already finished and the museum was already closed by nightfall.

We took a short flight of stairs up to the Guishan Park. At over 3,200 meters elevation above sea level, what looked like easy stairs to climb was quite exhausting due to the thin air. We were also quite tired since we had spent a long day hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge.

On top of the stairs, we came to the Big Buddha Temple (大佛寺). Big Buddha Temple (大佛寺) on Guishan.

Walking in a clockwise circle on top of the hill, we saw another temple building, adorn with prayer flags in front.

Beautifully lit Buddhist Temple on Guishan Park.

Colourful prayer flags could be seen all round.    

We finally came to the Giant Prayer Wheel that had become a famous tourist attraction in Shangri-La. Built in 2002, the 21-meter-high gold-plated bronze prayer wheel, weighing 60,000 kilograms, is the second largest of its kind in Asia.

A must-see attraction in Shangri-La.

Outside surface of the Prayer Wheel.

The outside surface is decorated with images of Buddhist deities and symbols. I spotted what looks like the Songzanlin Monastery on it.    Is this a picture of Songzanlin Monastery?

Like many prayer wheels, the Giant Prayer Wheels contains millions of traditional six-syllable “Om Mani Padme Hum” mantra inside, plus other relics.

Locals and visitors were seen turning the prayer wheel in the clockwise direction. One circle of every turn is equivalent of 1.24 million chanting. Anyone, including non-Buddhists, could join in to spread goodwill and blessings.

Many hands needed to work together to turn this 60-ton prayer wheel. We joined in too.

On this night, there are many willing pairs of hands waiting to turn the wheel. As one person completes the task, another person would swiftly take his place and the wheel was kept spinning.

Guishan Park is also a good place to have a panoramic view of Shangri-La. We could see the contrast between the Dukezong Ancient Town and the modern high-rise area of the city.

Panoramic view of Shangri-La city.

After seeing the Giant Prayer Wheel, we made our way back to our hotel. We walked past the Sifang Square where we had seen the locals dancing earlier during dinner. It was now quiet, with the moon over it.  

Sifang Square in Dukezong Old Town.

On our way back to the hotel, located next to the north gate of the old town.

Dukezong seems like a nice town to explore. We will have time to explore it again the next day with our guide.

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