In Search of Shangri-La
by Lily Pietryka
After a two-week intensive schedule in Beijing and Shanghai--after going from airport to airport, hotel to hotel, meetings to negotiations, lunch to dinner with different groups of people--I longed for some solitude in a beautiful and peaceful place. I yearned for nature where I could see blue sky, green trees and hear birds sing, away from the madding crowd in big, modern cities.
I thought of Shangri-La. Paradise or heaven on earth. It is a place called Diqing in Yunnan Province. It is also called Shambala. But is there really such a place as heaven on earth? Is it going to live up to its name? Or is it going to disappoint me and ruin the Shangri-La in my imagination?
With these mixed emotions of excitement and doubt, I got on the airplane from Beijing to Kunming.
Kunming
Yunnan is in the southwest region of China, bordering Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand. Twenty-six Chinese minorities live in Yunnan Province, including Tibetans, Naxi Zu, and Dai Zu people. The Dai Zu practice religion and customs similar to the Thai people. Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan province.
Kunming is known as the “Spring City,” because it is like springtime there all year round. It is a modern city, but not as crowded as Beijing and Shanghai. The city has beautiful parks with all kinds of flowers, interesting trees and lakes.
Shilin (The Stone Forests)
One hour outside
of Kunming, there is a famous place called Shilin – the
forest of stone. It was formed around 2 billion
years ago. From afar, it looks like the mushroom
cloud from an atomic bomb.
Shangri-la
I enjoyed Kunming
and Shilin, but I could not wait to start my
journey in search of Shangri-La. I took the 7:00am
flight from Kunming to Shangri-la. I do not normally
take early flights, but I could not contain my
anticipations and excitement.
It was only an hour flight. I took a little nap. When I woke up, the airplane was descending. I looked out of the window. Through white and grey clouds, I was delighted to see dark blue mountains. Some of them were still snow-capped. Shangri-La was unveiling itself through the clouds, I thought to myself.
The Taxi Driver
I got my luggage and walked out of the airport. It was a little chillier than Kunming, but I did not mind. I felt refreshed by the cool morning air. And there they were, my dark blue snow-capped mountains, right outside the airport.
Just as I was
admiring those mountains, one of the taxi drivers
approached me and asked me if I needed a ride.
I looked at him: he seemed mild-mannered and
nonthreatening. So I told him yes, and he turned
out to be my driver for the next two days.
The
Prairie |
 |
Our first stop was the Prairie. It was a peaceful and open place. Standing in the middle of the grassland and facing the snow-capped mountains, I felt the stress that I had carried with me all that time slowly dissipate into this vast and open land.
There was a group of Tibetan people living there. They convinced me to go for a horseback ride. The Tibetan girl who was leading my horse was beautiful with pretty light brown skin and chiseled facial features. She also seemed very joyful. I told her she was beautiful and asked her why she was so happy. She told me they were all Buddhists and they pray every day for good health and good fortune. She lives right at the foot of the mountain. I looked over and sort of understood where her innocent smile came from.
Those people live in a naturally beautiful place. It is a close community as they work and play together. There is no pressure and stress as we feel from living a city. Nobody is richer or poorer. There are no power figures and subordinates. Everybody lives pretty much the same life. There are no reasons to feel envy for people who have more or disappointment when a person fails to obtain what he desires. Life is simple here, but they have all they need.
I looked around again. Is this Shangri-la? I asked myself.
|
|
 |
| Lily with Tibetan Women |
Tibetan Women |
Muta Lake in Shangri-La |
|
