Shangri-La Driving Tour - A Place Closest to Paradise - 4K

Shangri-La Driving Tour - A Place Closest to Paradise - China Street View Shangri-La is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and serves as the prefectural capital. Its name means "the sun and moon in the heart" in Tibetan. Located in the northwest of Yunnan Province, in the hinterland of the Hengduan Mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it sits at the junction of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet, serving as a strategic gateway from northwest Yunnan to Sichuan and Tibet. The city covers a total area of 11,613 square kilometers and has jurisdiction over 4 towns and 7 townships. By the end of 2024, the city had a permanent population of 188,200. It is home to multiple ethnic groups including Tibetans, Nakhi, Han and Lisu, with Tibetans accounting for more than 40% of the total population, making it one of the core cities in the Tibetan-inhabited areas of Yunnan. The name Shangri-La originated from British writer James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon, in which this secret land of eternal peace and stunning scenery became an ideal destination yearned for by the whole world. In 1937, the film adaptation of the same name won multiple Academy Awards, further spreading the name Shangri-La across the globe. In 2002, the former Zhongdian County was officially renamed Shangri-La City, endowing this secret land with a formal geographical identity. Boasting a profound historical heritage and magnificent natural scenery, it is home to a host of world-class cultural and tourism resources, including Pudacuo National Park (China's first national park), the 1,300-year-old Dukezong Ancient City, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery known as the "Little Potala Palace", Tiger Leaping Gorge (one of the deepest canyons in the world), as well as Balagezong and Shika Snow Mountain. In April 2019, Shangri-La City officially withdrew from the list of poverty-stricken counties. Since then, it has been awarded numerous national honors, including the National Demonstration County of "Four Good Rural Roads", China's Top 100 Counties and Cities for Summer Leisure, National Model City (County) for Double Support, Key Support County for National Rural Revitalization, National Demonstration Zone for Ecological Civilization Construction, and China's Most Beautiful County. In recent years, relying on its unique ecological and cultural tourism resources, Shangri-La City has adhered to the concept of green development, and built a modern industrial system focusing on ecological cultural tourism, green and clean energy, characteristic plateau agriculture and animal husbandry, and ethnic biomedicine. In 2024, the city achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of 19.236 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2% at comparable prices. Its economy maintains steady and sound development, and it continues to be a core economic, cultural and transportation hub in the border area of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet. #China #Yunnan #Shangri-La