Replies: 17 - Last Post: 26-Nov-2007 19:00 Last Post By: westwood
1
Me and a friend joined a couple on a 4WD trip from Zhongdian to Feilaisi, then to Meilixueshan's glacier (Mingyong) late last year. The HK couple did the negotiations with the driver and we paid only a couple of hundred RMB each for the trip. It would be cheaper to get to Deqin and then organise transport, or even to use public transport. There are medium buses and miny vans that do the route. Vans will even come get you from the hot springs at the start of the hike to Yubeng.2
Zhongdian in itself is not that nice as a city - unless you have a special interest in these kind of places I'd say Xiahe etc. is enough. Also I note in your other posts that your travel companions might not appreciate the more touristic places. Returning to Zhongdian this summer after not having been for a couple of years I was surprised to find a new 'old city'. They've done a good job, for sure, but it is just like Lijiang. Apparently it was designed by the American guy who desgined Xintiandi in Shanghai (!).4
P.S. Zhongdian is not really unmissable. Take it or leave it, given the travel you've done. It's one of those places that grows on you, can be fun to lounge around in with some good mates, but not really a must see destination. I've stayed at a few places there, Harmony Guesthouse is my pick of the lot for their cosy downstairs lounge with a big wood heater in the middle, friendly staff and adorable dog. There is good Indian and Tibetan food around town. Try the "old" town (newly rebuilt...) for Indian, the edges of the new town for Tibetan. Warm sweet yak cheese with home made bread... mmmm....5
I've been to both Xining and Zhongdian but not to Xiahe. Zhongdians main claim to fame is the nearby monastery and in all my ignorance I find all these Tibetan monasteries very much the same . Otherwise, Zhongdian itself is pretty tacky but it still has some charm...6
Ah 4, ya, Harmony GH, very good!!!9
it depends on what your interests are10
Apart from the monastery on the outskirts Zhongdian was not really interesting, being turned quickly into a tourist theme park while lacking the charm of Lijiang. I found Xiahe much better.12
Xiahe is much more impressive than Zhongdian. Zhongdian is more of a theme park, I guess that's what happens when you baptise yourself Shangri-La?! Xiahe has much more atmosphere. If you end up there, we stayed at a brand new hostel called the Labrang Red Rock, it is run by monks, one who is a famed thangka painter. He raised money to open a thangka painting school and cultural centre to train young monks and locals, one wing of the thangka centre is a lovely youth hostel. No one speaks English, but I think that's ok for you. Monks are incredibly friendly, will give you tours of the thangka centre, and you can watch the young monks training. Beautiful wooden Tibetan building. Ok, there's my plug for the hostel, we really enjoyed our stay there. Intended to spend two days in Xiahe and spent 4.14
Looks like we'll be skipping Zhongdian, except as a transit point. Heck, we'll skip it for sure if we find a bus going directly to Deqin, from Lijiang.Posted By: VenessaP -- 28-Jan-2010 15:01
Posted By: VenessaP -- 09-Dec-2009 17:01
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