Visit Zhongdian, China
On the very edge of the Tibetan plateau is one of the most important Llamaist monasteries outside Tibet. The 300-year-old Songzanlin Monastery, home to around 600 monks, dominates the outskirts of the frontier town of Zhongdian.

Kawakarpo Bridge, Zhongdian.
Songzanlin monastery, Zhongdian, ChinaSongzanlin monastery, Zhongdian, ChinaZhongdian, ChinaSongzanlin Monastery, ZhongdianSongzanlin's interior, ZhongdianZhongdian, ChinaZhongdian, ChinaZhongdian, ChinaKawakarpo Bridge, Zhongdian.Market in Zhongdian.Yak Meadow, Zhongdian.Bitahai, Zhongdian.Zhongdian, ChinaZhongdian, ChinaResting Yaks, Yunnan
On the very edge of the Tibetan plateau is one of the most important Llamaist monasteries outside Tibet. The 300-year-old Songzanlin Monastery, home to around 600 monks, dominates the outskirts of the frontier town of Zhongdian.
A new airport has opened up this beautiful and previously remote Tibetan region, renamed ‘Shangri-la’ after James Hilton’s mythical mountain paradise.
Around Zhongdian
Further north, at Deqen, yak-herding nomads tend their animals in a dramatic landscape of remarkable limestone terraces and slow-moving glaciers.
From here the overland route to Chengdu in Sichuan Province is open to the adventurous via a spectacular but arduous journey reaching more than 4,500 metres across the high Tibetan steppe to Litang - home to a fabulous Tibetan horse festival each August - and great Mount Gonga.
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Yunnan province has very high levels of ethnic diversity - the highest number of ethnic groups among all provinces and regions in China in fact, making it an exciting and vibrant place to visit.
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