This morning, we will leave Lijiang to Shangri-La. On the way, transfer to visit The First Bend of the Yangtze River, Shigu town and Tiger Leaping Gorger.
"The First Bend of the Yangtze River" where the mighty Yangtze turns almost 180 degrees. This is the first of several abrupt turns it makes on its way eastward across all of China, before it finally empties into the East China Sea at Shanghai.
The mighty Yangtze, the third-longest river in the world (after the Nile and the Amazon), originates from a glacier in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, "the roof of the world", where it surges into Yunnan from the northwest, cutting through the high mountains and deep gorges of the Hengduan Mountains, and rushing southwards from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Here, where we stand, the Yangtze is blocked by the Hailuo Cliff, which forces it to turn roughly to northeast, forming a great "U"-shaped bend, which is called the First Bend of the Yangtze.
At this first bend the river is wide, so the water seems to flow in a gentle, slow pace hiding the power beneath the surface. Large willow trees grow luxuriously alongside the river that is banked on both sides with lush, fertile deep green vegetation and immense, steep mountains that rise up from the river toward the sky above. On the fertile soil deposited as the river makes its turn lies the town of Shigu, linking Tibet with the outside world. Here is where we will stay for the night, in a local hostel.
Shigu (Stone Drum) town is named after a white marble monument, carved in the 1500's in the shape of a drum, to commemorate victory by the Naxi ruler over an invading Tibetan army.
After that, continue to visit the world-famous
Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest most dramatic gorges in the world, and still quite wild despite enormous efforts to tame it. We'll bike another 10km after enter in the gorge until we finally arrive at the "middle" of Tiger Leaping Gorge. At the end of today's visit, drive to Zhongdian.
Zhongdian is the first Tibetan town in Yunnan with a sprinkling of Bai Muslim and Naxi cultural influences. It is a beautiful land characterized by snow-capped mountains, vast grasslands, idyllic lakes and religious culture. It is a "Utopia" free from stress, pollution and turmoil that plagues most of the cities where we live.
Before dinner, walk around
Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. Getting further adjusted to the high elevation.
Overnight at a nice hotel in Shangri-La
