Shangri-La City Explained

Shangri-La
Native Name:Chinese: 香格里拉市
Settlement Type:County-level city
Mapsize:250px
Pushpin Map:China Yunnan
Pushpin Label:Shangri-La
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the county seat in Yunnan
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:China
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Yunnan
Subdivision Type2:Autonomous prefecture
Subdivision Name2:Diqing
Seat Type:Municipal seat
Seat:Gyalthang Town
Area Total Km2:11613
Population As Of:2020 census
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:186412
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:China Standard
Utc Offset:+8
Coor Pinpoint:Diqing Prefecture government
Elevation Footnotes:[2]
Elevation M:3160
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:674400
Area Code:0887
P:Xiānggélǐlā
P2:Zhōngdiān
Order:st
Tib:སེམས་ཀྱི་ཉི་ཟླ།
Wylie:sems kyi nyi zla
Zwpy:Semkyi'nyida

Shangri-La (;) is a county-level city in northwestern Yunnan province, China, named after the mythical land depicted in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon. It is the capital and largest city of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is bordered by the city of Lijiang to the south and Sichuan province to the northwest, north, and east.

Name

The city was originally a county named Zhongdian ; the Tibetan population referred to the area by its traditional name Gyalthang, meaning "royal plains". On 17 December 2001, the Chinese government renamed the county "Shangri-La", after the fictional land of Shangri-La in the 1933 James Hilton novel Lost Horizon. This renaming, along with the county's upgrade to a county-level city on 16 December 2014, was part of an effort by the Chinese government to promote tourism in the area. The Chinese name of the county seat, Jiantang, reflects a Mandarin transliteration of Gyalthang.

History

In the early morning of 11 January 2014, a fire broke out in the 1,000-year-old Dukezong Tibetan neighborhood. About 242 homes and shops were destroyed and 2,600 residents were displaced.[3] About half of the old town was destroyed by the fire, while the other half was spared. After the fire, residents were allowed back to their homes and shops. By the end of 2014 rebuilding had started and tourism started to return. Tourism was generally not affected by the fire, since the main sights in the old town, such as the prayer wheel and temples, were not damaged. Many of the other main sights are located outside of the old town.

Demographics and languages

The southern half of the city is inhabited by the Naxi people, who speak the Naxi language, a Lolo-Burmese language separate from the Tibetic languages. The northern half is inhabited by the Khampas, who speak the southern variety of Khams Tibetan. Southwestern Mandarin is spoken by the Han Chinese throughout the city.

Administrative divisions

Shangri-La city has 4 towns, 6 townships and 1 ethnic township.[4]

NameSimplified ChineseHanyu PinyinTibetanWylieAdministrative division code
Towns
Gyalthang Town
(Jiantang)
Chinese: 建塘镇533401101
Yangthang Town
(Xiaozhongdian)
Chinese: 小中甸镇<br>(洋塘镇)533401102
Hutiaoxia TownChinese: 虎跳峡镇533401103
Jinjiang TownChinese: 金江镇533401104
Townships
Shangjiang TownshipChinese: 上江乡533401201
Luoji TownshipChinese: 洛吉乡533401203
Nyishar Township
(Nixi)
Chinese: 尼西乡533401204
Ketsak Township
(Gezan)
Chinese: 格咱乡533401205
Dorwarong Township
(Torwarong, Dongwang)
Chinese: 东旺乡533401206
Rongpagyurnga Township
(Wujing)
Chinese: 五境乡533401207
Ethnic township
Sanba Naxi Ethnic TownshipChinese: 三坝纳西族乡533401202

Climate

Shangri-La has either a dry-winter, warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dwb) using the isotherm or a dry-winter subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwb) using the -3°C isotherm, both of which are unusually cool by Yunnan standards due to the high elevation, which ranges between 2700and. Winters are chilly but sunny, with a 24 January-hour average temperature of, while summers are cool, with a 24 July-hour average temperature of 13.9°C, and feature frequent rain; more than 70% of the annual precipitation is delivered from June to September. The annual mean is 6.32°C. Except during the summer, nights are usually sharply cooler than the days. Despite the dryness of the winter, the small amount of precipitation is generally sufficient to cause major transportation dislocations and isolate the area between November and March.

National park

Transport

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 迪庆州第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报 . Government of Diqing Prefecture . zh . 27 May 2021 .
  2. Web site: Shangri-La (Xiānggélǐlā 香格里拉), chef-lieu de la préfecture autonome tibétaine de Diqing, Yunnan (Yúnnán 云南) . channaryetfrancoisashanghai.net . fr . 10 August 2015.
  3. News: Night fire burns for hours, destroys ancient Tibetan town in southwest China's Shangri-La county. Toledo Blade. 11 January 2014.
  4. Web site: 国家统计局 . National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China . zh . 7 December 2021.
  5. Web site: 丽香铁路 11月26日开通运营. 丽江至香格里拉铁路(以下简称丽香铁路)将于11月26日建成通车.
  6. News: 丽香铁路通车 动车直达"吉祥如意的地方 . Xinhua . 26 November 2023.
  7. http://chinatour.net/yunnan/shangri-la/transport/"Shangri-la Transportation" ChinaTour.net