Diqing

cctv.com 01-06-2004 16:04

For almost a millennium from Tang Dynasty to the 1960s, traders of tea and horses have been trudging along small passages cutting through Henduan Mountains and the Himalayas in southwest China. Unlike the Silk Road, this path, hidden away in high mountains is almost unknown to the outside world.

The tea-horse trade route branched out into two lines: the northern route extending from Ya'an in Sichuan to Qamdo in Tibet; and the southern line extending from Xishuangbanna in Yunnan to Qamdo via Dali, Lijiang, and Diqing.

The Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Diqing in Yunnan province used to be an important section on the southern route. Even today, porters and pilgrims from extremely isolated mountain areas still use some of the tea-horse route for transport purpose.

Diqing is made up of three counties, Shangri-la, Deqen, and Weixi. Sitting at the Southeast tip of Qinghai 鈥揟ibet plateau, the average elevation of the Prefecture is 3380 meters. Majestic snow-capped mountains, torrential rivers, picturesque grassland and exotic ethnic culture together make the place a paradise on earth.

It is said that the description of Shangri-la in James Hilton's Lost Horizon was based on Diqing.

Editor:Han Ling  Source:CCTV.com