Under the Shangri-La Snow Mountains, I experienced a unique New Year’s Eve trip

In the New Year of 2021, I avoided some popular travel destinations and chose a more secretive and niche route. During this New Year's Eve itinerary, I encountered the Holy Lake and Divine Waterfall, the sunrise over the snow-capped mountains, and the Milky Way stars. Every breathtaking and magnificent scenery made me feel the true joy of travel at the beginning of the year. Pleasurable and soothing.

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The "highlights" before the start of the trip

Before the whole trip started, I had already arranged for myself the most important part of the trip. The most unmissable experience: a secret visit to the Yunnan golden monkeys! I have been a wildlife lover since I was a child. I am well aware of the preciousness and mystery of the Yunnan golden monkeys, and I have long been a fan of wild Yunnan golden monkeys, which are so naive. After arriving at the first stop of this trip, the first thing to do is to "realize the dream".

The Yunnan golden monkey is a species endemic to Yunnan, China, and a special protected animal. Living in the core area of ??the Three Parallel Rivers National Nature Reserve, it is considered a national treasure along with the giant panda. Since the Yunnan golden monkeys generally only come out to look for food in the early morning, you must get up early if you want to see the Yunnan golden monkeys. Therefore, I chose to live in Tacheng, which is more convenient whether entering the mountains or arriving at the monkey viewing point.

After the shuttle bus arrives at the monkey viewing point, you must get off the car and hike into the mountain. Since there are conservation staff feeding the Yunnan golden monkeys at fixed points, the locations where the Yunnan golden monkeys appear are generally relatively fixed. Under normal circumstances, there is no need to Take a long walk to observe them. But on the day we went, we walked for a full 40 minutes. It wasn't until the altitude climbed all the way to 3,200 meters that a group of people staggered around out of breath, that we finally saw these "hairy kids".

Yunnan golden monkeys are very gentle animals and are not aggressive in any way. Just watching them quietly squatting and swinging while eating usneas is extremely healing.

While watching, I chatted with the uncle of the Yunnan Golden Monkey Reserve and learned that he had been stationed in the reserve for 27 years. The uncle’s job is to record and supervise the situation of the golden monkeys on the mountain every day. He also gave each Yunnan golden monkey a name. He said he looked at the monkeys as if they were his own children. But this love is no exaggeration, you can feel it from his words and eyes.

On the way down the mountain, I ate a bowl of freshly ground tofu pudding at a farmer’s home. I didn’t expect that this spoonful would become my first unforgettable taste this year. The sweetness of the beancurd and the finishing touch of chili are simply amazing. Finally, I earnestly asked the boss to pack some chili peppers, hoping to keep the flavor longer.

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Eating in Tacheng

Because this time we arranged a "close contact" trip with Yunnan golden monkeys, we stayed at Songtsam Pagoda for two days. Chengshanju. This mountain home is almost universally recognized as the one with the best food in the Songtsam series.

Such high praise is due to the stable cooking skills of Tacheng Shanju’s chefs, and also because most of the Songtsam Restaurant uses local materials. The rich products of the Tacheng area have brought a unique flavor to the cuisine. More exciting possibilities.

Songtsam Tacheng’s unique papa

The papa served in the restaurant tastes great. In addition, the local famous ham can be seen in soups and stir-fries. Tacheng ham has a richer flavor than the Jinhua ham we are familiar with, so I personally think Tacheng ham will be more delicious when used for stewing soup. In winter when the temperature is low, have a serving of ham and kidney bean soup to warm your body and heart.

Rainbow trout is also a regular on the menu, and grilled rainbow trout is the most common dish here. Although the meat is not very tender, the simple cooking method does not add too many overpowering seasonings, but it can bring out the fresh flavor of the rainbow trout itself.

In winter, you can also taste the ice wine produced by Tacheng Hada Ice Wine Factory in the hotel. There are not many manufacturers with ice wine production technology in China, because ice wine has almost strict requirements on grapes and climate, making it difficult to mass-produce, so the limited edition in winter is even more precious.

If you are interested in ice wine, you can visit the ice wine factory located on the hill behind the hotel.

Production equipment of Tacheng Hada Ice Wine Factory

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The prelude to the Yubeng trip

Preparing to leave Tacheng on the third day Join the big group and start my New Year’s Eve trip. After leaving Tacheng, our first stop was Benzilan.

Benzilan means "the place where the princess dances" in Tibetan. It is located in the warm canyon beside the Jinsha River, only a 75-minute drive from Shangri-La Diqing Airport. With an altitude of 2,020 meters, it is not only an important stop on the Tea Horse Road, but also an important part of the secret "Shambhala" in James Hilton's "Lost Horizon".

The unique geographical location and comfortable altitude here have attracted many people. This is why I chose Benzilan as the first stop when I landed in Shangri-La, because it is very suitable as a stop to adapt to the altitude before entering Meili.

Jinsha River Big Bend

Hiking in the Nidin Primeval Forest was the first real interaction with the group members.

The light hike in the forest made me breathe in the fresh air the whole time. After walking around and laughing, there is a hot pot picnic by the stream in the forest, waiting for us who take the time to come here.

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The scenery is on the road

The next stop is the Songtsan Yubeng Tent Camp in Yubeng Village, starting from Benzilan and going around all the way. First, we drove for 3 hours, then took a special off-road vehicle for the scenic spot. We arrived at Yubeng about 40 minutes later. Then there was another 20-minute downhill walk before finally reaching the campsite.

Although the journey was a bit long, fortunately the weather was sunny along the way. While driving, Kawagbo suddenly broke into our sight, which became a small climax of the journey.

Due to weather reasons, the surroundings of Kawagbo are shrouded in fog all year round. Only in winter, the probability of viewing Kawagbo will be greatly increased. This time, we were lucky enough to see what this sacred mountain really looks like. The white snow-capped mountains against the blue sky are of extremely high definition, making them look like blockbusters whenever you take a photo.

Speaking of the "Rizhao Jinshan" in Meili Snow Mountain, it is a stunning scenery that almost everyone on the Yunnan-Tibet line does not want to miss, and Wunonding Village is one of the best viewing locations on the entire line. one.

The popular Jixiashan Meili Hotel is located in Wunonding Village. The entire hotel has a whole-floor Meili Landscape Lounge, where you can witness the entire process of the sunshine on Jinshan Mountain during most of the winter. If you have time, it's worth staying here for one or two more nights.

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Arriving at Yubeng Village

Since the Yubeng Highway was officially opened to traffic in 2019, Yubeng is no longer an elusive destination. . The 10 tents that Songtsan set up in Yubeng Village aroused my curiosity and were the most attractive part of this trip.

It was already evening when we arrived at the tent camp. Due to the large temperature difference between day and night, the lowest temperature here at night is as low as minus 5 degrees. It is particularly important to stay warm in the tent at the camp overnight.

However, the camp staff had already prepared cotton shoes and oil lamps. After the staff gave a simple and clear introduction on how to use them, we were taken to our respective tents.

As soon as you get into the tent, you will feel a sense of warmth. The yellow lights are very warm, the space is compact and practical, and the bedding is from the same style as Songtsam Hotel. In addition to basic toiletries, disposable footbath bags and rechargeable oil heaters for sustainable heating are all placed in a corner.

Disposable footbath bag

Hygiene is a matter of concern to many people. Songtsan Yubeng Tent Camp currently has two areas with bathroom tents, one near the restaurant tent and one near the living tent.

No matter where you are in the campground, you can easily reach it. Although there are no related facilities for bathing yet, they were already under construction when I visited and are expected to be put into use early this year.

Toilets in the camp

The day of check-in happened to be the last day of 2020, and the camp specially prepared a beef hot pot dinner. The soup stock that has been simmered for 8 hours is paired with soft yellow beef. It is a meal to bid farewell to the magical year of 2020. It can be said to be an ending with a sense of warmth and healing.

On New Year’s Eve, the camp held a small party. We learned to dance the Guozhuang dance with the camp staff, drank red wine, and left all the unpleasant and unsatisfactory things in the year behind, and just enjoyed the happiness of this moment.

A photo of me and the prayer flags printed by myself

Watching the sunrise

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Two or three things about hiking in Yubeng

The first half of the Shenfu Line is a lot of flat roads with occasional uphill climbs, but the second half will have a lot more uphill terrain.

Hiking towards Wuzhi Peak

About one kilometer away from the Shen Waterfall is the most difficult part of the entire hiking route. Interestingly, at this "edge of despair", a slogan appeared on the roadside that read "Despair has its own power of despair." It's a unique feeling to understand this sentence carefully under this world.

Hanging prayer flags under the waterfall (the waterfall has frozen)

After walking this route, it can be regarded as completing the first long-term hike on the plateau in my life. The altitude climbed 600 meters and the total distance was 15km. For a novice hiker like me, it was already very satisfying. However, friends who have no outdoor hiking experience and are not familiar with their physical fitness need not worry too much, because the most difficult roads can be traveled on a pony. And once you actually get here, you might find that you can actually walk down this seemingly long route.

The first trip at the beginning of 2021 ended successfully, accompanied by natural scenery, wild animals, and humanistic customs. Although it was my first time to come to Shangri-La, the people I met along the way, whether it was the hotel staff who provided simple but attentive service, or the local villagers who were friendly and shared, even just said "Tashi Delek" to me in a friendly way. "The passers-by make me feel like Shangri-La is an old friend. Perhaps as Songtsan has been saying, this is our distant home. Well, welcome home.

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Let you see a different world.