History of Shangri-la

Located at the point where Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan all meet, Shangri-la County is administered by Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is called "Jiantang" in Tibetan language, and was called Zhongdian in Chinese before 2001.

In the Tang Dynasty, it together with Batang (in Tibet) and Litang (in Sichuan) was the fiefdom of the three sons of a Tibetan King.

In the Yuan Dynasty, it was under the direct control of Xuan Zheng Yuan (propaganda ministry).

During the mid-Ming Dynasty, it was administrated by Lijiang Jun Min Fu (Jun Min Fu: one type of the agencies created to administer southwestern aboriginal groups).

In 1724, the Qing Dynasty set Zhongdian Ting (government office) and had Yunnan Province administrated Zhongdian.

On May 10, 1950, Zhongdian was liberated peacefully and was administrated by Lijiang Administrative Office.

In September 1957, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was established and its prefecture seat was set up in Zhongdian County.

In December 2001, Zhongdian was renamed Shangri-la for marketing reasons.

Gedan Songzanlin Monastery

The Ancient City of Zhongdian


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