Let's Go to Shangri-La!
This article is specially produced by VOLVO Wagon Alliance
British writer James Hilton
In his novel "Lost Horizon"
Created a fictional hidden world located on the Tibetan Plateau
Concealed between snow-capped mountains and valleys
Gradually becoming a unique yearning
(Baima Snow Mountain, Diqing, Yunnan, photographer: Zou Tong)
(Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La, Diqing, with a black-necked crane flying overhead, photographer: Lin Sen)
(Forest and stream between Yubeng Sacred Waterfall and Lower Yubeng Village, Diqing, photographer: Ming Zijian)
The environment of southeastern Tibet, western Sichuan, and northwestern Yunnan in China
Resembles the Shangri-La described in the novel
(Location map of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, designed by Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute)
It boasts some of Yunnan's finest
Pudacuo National Park, Napahai
Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, Dukezong Ancient Town
(Meili Snow Mountain under the starry sky, photographer: Dreamscape)
The collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate
Caused intense deformation in the southeastern part of the plateau
Forming seven tightly packed mountain ranges
(Please view horizontally, aerial view of Meili Snow Mountain range in Diqing, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
Diqing is the area with the densest concentration of mountain peaks in Yunnan.
Mountains in Yunnan exceeding 5,000 meters in elevation.
(Topographic map of Yunnan Province, map by Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute).
Several snow-capped peaks ranging from 5,000 to 6,000 meters.
(Please view horizontally, labeled peaks of the Meili Snow Mountain range, "thirteen" is figurative, photographer Jiang Zuoyong, labeling reference Lao J, labeled map by Chen Sui/Planet Research Institute).
(Please view horizontally, Biluo Snow Mountain, photographer Lin Sen).
(Please view horizontally, panoramic view of Baima Snow Mountain, photographer Yang Jun).
In Diqing, it is also known as Zhongdian Grand Snow Mountain.
(Please view horizontally, Balagezong Snow Mountain, with the highest peak on the left being Balagezong, photographer Li Zhenglin).
(Meili Snow Mountain shrouded in clouds, photographer Bao Kaliya).
After years of accumulation and compaction.
Glaciers carve the peaks into sharp "blades."
(Please view horizontally, the Xiangqiuqu Glacier in the Shaluli Mountains, photographer Xiong Wenkai).
Grinding valleys into broad U-shapes.
(Please view horizontally, the double U-shaped valleys of Baima Snow Mountain, photographer Jiang Han).
(Mingyong Glacier, photographer Lin Sen).
(Glacial lake near Yubeng Village in Diqing, photographer Chen Xiaoyang).
And continuously eroding along fault zones.
(Canyon, photographer Li Zhenglin).
On terraced, step-like terrain.
(Waterfall by the Niru River, photographer: He Yi)
(Baishuitai, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
The lowest point in the valley has an elevation of only 1,486 meters.
It differs by more than 5,000 meters from the highest peak in Diqing.
(Schematic diagram of Diqing's terrain, summarized as "three mountains sandwiching two rivers," cartographer: Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute)
(Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Jinsha River, photographer: Lu Wen)
(Diqing is located in the core area of the Three Parallel Rivers, cartographer: Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute)
This is the landscape created by the convergence of mountains and rivers.
Elevation 4,000-5,000 meters
(Alpine meadows and shrubs in Nangjiluo, photographer: Lin Sen)
Elevation 3,000-4,000 meters
(Coniferous forests on the slopes of Haba Snow Mountain, photographer: Liu Zhong)
Distributed from 2,600 meters to 4,500 meters above sea level.
(Rhododendrons on Baima Snow Mountain, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
At elevations of 2,000-3,000 meters,
Evergreen coniferous forests and mixed coniferous-broadleaf forests
(Forest in the middle-upper section of Mingyong Glacier, photographer: Xiong Fashou)
Below 2,000 meters in elevation,
The river valleys become even drier and hotter,
Even forming small-scale deserts.
Growing here are some shrubs and grasses
(Vegetation in the dry-hot valley of the Lancang River, photographer @ Shen Longquan)
Besides the diversity in vertical dimensions
It connects different biogeographic regions from east to west
(Biggu Tianchi Forest, photographer @ Shang Rui)
(Diqing Napa Sea Yila Grassland, photographer @ denny)
Polystichum glaciale, Isoetes hypsophila, Taxus chinensis var. mairei
Taiwania cryptomerioides, Picea brachytyla var. complanata, Pseudotsuga forrestii
Diqing is also a hub for rhododendrons, gentians, and primroses
A differentiation center for six major alpine flowers
Various unique wildflowers bloom across the plateau
(Meconopsis, photographer @ Cui Yongjiang)
(Saussurea, photographer @ Li Yong)
(Rheum nobile, photographer @ Li Yong)
Shaping Diqing's surface, water, and atmosphere
(Please view horizontally, Pudacuo, photographer @ denny)
As well as monkeys, bears, musk deer, otters, and more
(Diqing Pudacuo's tufted deer, photographer @ Lin Sen)
The alpine forest belt at 3000-5000 meters above sea level
(Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, photographer @ Zhong Hailong)
yet serves as a crucial stopover for many migratory birds
(Black-necked Crane, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
Numerous ethnic groups converge here
incorporating Diqing in northwestern Yunnan into its territory
(Territorial boundaries of the Tibetan Empire, Tang Dynasty, and ethnic tribes in western Yunnan in 669 AD, map by Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute)
the uniquely shaped Kawagarbo Peak
thus began its path to deification
the rise of the Gelug school in Tibetan Buddhism
As the Gelug school gained support from the ruling powers
it swiftly replaced the Nyingma school's dominance in Diqing
(Songzanlin Monastery, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
(Baiyi Temple and Yagen Temple, photographers: Li Youcai, Xiong Wenkai)
Tibetan people often align themselves with a monastery
(Please view horizontally: Shangri-La's Jiantang Town, with the ancient Dukezong city in the foreground, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
The Naxi chieftain Mu family reached its zenith
bringing northwestern Yunnan, including Diqing, under its rule
The Naxi people introduced their Dongba religion's primal beliefs
"white sky, white earth, white mountains, white waters"
(Diqing's Lisu ethnic group, photographer: Zhu Yuming)
(Cizhong Catholic Church, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
(Tea-Horse Road Diqing Section, map by Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute)
More stems from the demand for material circulation
(Tiger Leaping Gorge Tea-Horse Road in Diqing, photographer: Lu Wen)
(Yubeng Village, photographer: Chen Xiaoyang)
In complex and diverse natural environments
People have developed diverse ways of survival
(Tibetan barley-drying racks, photographer: Xiong Ke)
(Lisu village in Weixi, Diqing, photographer: Zhu Yuming)
(Tibetan Gedong Jumping God Festival in Diqing, photographer: Lin Sen)
Building towns in river valleys and flatlands
(Deqin County town in Diqing, photographer: Li Jin)
(Tiger Leaping Gorge Jinsha River Bridge in Diqing, with Lixiang Expressway in the foreground and Lixiang Railway in the distance, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)
(Climbers ascending Haba Snow Mountain in Diqing, photographer: Lin Sen)
Beneath the "sacred" main peak of Meili, Kawagarbo
In the "VOLVO Wagon Alliance"
And Planet Research Institute's featured photographer Li Zhenglin
VOLVO's beloved journey under the most beautiful starry sky
(Click to watch the video, wear headphones, view in landscape mode. This video is jointly produced by Volvo Cars and Planet Research Institute.)
"VOLVO Wagon Alliance"
Is an official owner organization initiated by Volvo Cars
Dedicated to walking alongside VOLVO owners who are devoted to their passions
Chasing fun and love, co-creating the wagon culture
Changes and challenges also temper every member of the wagon community
To deciding to venture to the more distant Meili Snow Mountain
From the icy, winding mountain roads of Baima Snow Mountain
To facing the elusive Kawagarbo
Four members of the "VOLVO Wagon Alliance"
Always move forward with determination and confidence
They set off, paused, crossed over, and arrived
(Wagon Alliance journey photos, swipe left or right to view, photographer @Volvo Cars)
Gathered by passion, arriving by setting out
We journey afar to encounter the most beautiful "starry sky"
This is the belief of the "VOLVO Wagon Alliance"
This is the true "Shangri-La"
(Meili Snow Mountain and Feilai Temple, photographer @Cui Yongjiang)
[1] Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Local Chronicles Compilation Committee. Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Chronicles[M]. Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House, 2003.
[2] Publicity Department of Diqing Prefecture Committee of the CPC. Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Education Reader[M]. Yunnan People's Publishing House, 2012.
[3] Wang Hengjie. Historical Traditions and Natural Factors of Diqing Tibetan Area[J]. China Tibetology, 1992.
[4] Zongka·Yangzhenggangbu, et al. Ethnic Group Interaction in Tibetan Border Society: Space, Pathways, and Outcomes—Based on Field Research in Diqing Tibetan Area[J]. Journal of Southwest Minzu University, 2016.
[5] Xu Xinjian. The Reproduction of "Shangri-La"—The Materialization of a "World of Hope"[J]. Cultural Studies, 2015.