Properly set up with adjustable Wilbers Suspension and Metzeler Karoo 3 tyres, the BMW F800GS is just the perfect bike for the this type of Yunnan cruising....

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Most outstanding Shaxi restaurant = HUNGRY BUDDHA....
Very tasty selection of homemade cheese on warmed sour dough bread, great vegetarian Pizza with Yunnan mushrooms, Gnocchi with a fresh Yunnan mushroom mix and outstanding Tiramisu as dessert.
Actually went twice to Hungry Buddha enjoying outstanding food and definitely a must visit while in Shaxi / Yunnan = http://www.soundinner.com/yunnan/en/hungry-buddha

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Last day before moving on further around Yunnan, after dinner taking long relaxed walkabout for some photo shooting, Shaxi looks absolute stunning during the dark hours.....

















































If you’re looking to experience Yunnan without succumbing to the overcrowded popular tourist traps of Dali and Lijiang, the ancient tea & horse trading village of Shaxi may be the perfect solution but highly recommend going for a visit as soon as possible...'nuff said....

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

“Lijiang is like the Chinatown of China”
As how I describe the tacky and touristy city for many years, blasting through parts of Lijiang outskirts avoiding downtown and the surrounding "tourist attractions" like Tiger Leaping Gorge / Baishuitai Terraces since my last visit 2008 as they don't do much for me anymore after several lists with mates and family.....

Next destination stopover, Shangrila (Xiānggélǐlā; formerly Zhongdian known as Gyalthang in Tibetan) is in Yunnan Province, confused with all them names and changes yet?!

The town is split between Tibetan and ethnic Han residents, as well as a fair smattering of Naxi, Bai, Yi and Lisu, with the surrounding countryside entirely Tibetan. While the crass name change in 2001 was a sign of the desire for increasing mass tourism ala Lijiang, the town has got nowhere near Lijiang's crowds yet but soon will once the new train under construction will be operational around early 2018. Nowadays, it's still possible to experience the area's Tibetan heritage and see gorgeous countryside in near isolation.
Zhongdian was renamed Shangrila for marketing reasons. Signs in bus stations may still use Zhongdian. There is also a third name in Tibetan, Gyelthang but this is not used officially anymore. The original Shangrila, from James Hilton's novel The Lost Horizon, was a (fictional) hidden paradise whose inhabitants lived for centuries. Hilton (who never went to China just for info) located his Shangri-La in the Kunlun mountains. However, elements of his story were apparently inspired by National Geographic articles about various places in eastern Tibet (including Zhongdian); hence China's rationale for claiming the name.Local Khampa Tibetans claim that the name Shangrila was most likely derived from their word for paradise "Shambala," by Hilton through exposure to Rock's writings on the region.

Visiting Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery, also known as Sungtseling and Guihuasi (Chinese: Sōngzànlín Sì), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 5 kilometres from the city of Zhongdian (Shangrila) at elevation 3,380 metres in Yunnan province, China. Built in 1679, the monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan province and is sometimes referred to as the Little Potala Palace. Located in the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, it is also the most important monastery in southwest China.
It belongs to the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelukpa order of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama's Buddhist visionary zeal established the monastery in Zhongdian, in 1679. Its architecture is a fusion of the Tibetan and Han Chinese. It was extensively damaged in the Cultural Revolution and subsequently rebuilt in 1983; at its peak, the monastery contained accommodation for 2,000 monks; it currently accommodates in its rebuilt structures 700 monks in 200 associated houses.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Just a few very simple pictures taken during a walkabout ~ Shangrila "Old Town" (Dukezong), the highlight of the walk is the worlds largest spinning prayer wheel atop a hill overlooking "Old Town" standing at a height of 24 metres. A big part of the Shangrila "Old Town" burnt down on January 11, 2014. It is in the process of being reconstructed and many parts of the old city are still not finished despite the official re-launch and opening on 1st. January 2016. Many of the traditional old houses and parts of Dukezong (Shangrila Old Town) have been replaced now with concrete buildings housing shops / restaurants in the future years, many properties are still empty.
Once the Lijiang > Shangrila train service starts early 2018, the domestic tourist hordes will arrive and Shangrila town will be going the "‘Lijianification" route as well.











Most outstanding TBR independent restaurant award goes to COMPASS Cafe & Lodge Shangrila, a Singaporean owned and operated business just outside the "Old City" district, very enjoyable lunch break.
Serves excellent authentic western food and delicious cakes, equiped with a professional coffee / espresso machine for great hot caffeinated drinks. They got a bakery "In & Out" next door selling breads, muffins and other savouries.
Compass Cafe & Lodge = http://www.thecompass.asia









Compass Cafe & Lodge, had food + coffee a few times, only took pictures once, definitely worth stopping by for break while around Shangrila.......

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Skipped any further Shangrila Dukezong "Old Town" walkabout after lunch (Compass Cafe & Lodge) instead riding around Napa Lake chasing Yak's around, (Napa Lake is located approx. 5k's west of the Shangrila Old Town, just over the hill on Dawa Lu)....
Most of the Napa Lake area is marshy wetland that becomes dry from late fall through winter, but from spring through summer, the area again becomes an expansive wetland that attracts countless flocks of birds, such as the bar-headed goose – as well as a number of other species of geese – the common mallard, the Himalayan griffon, the egret and the white-tailed eagle.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Staying at the Hylandia Hotel by Shangri-La in Shangrila formerly Zhongdian, confusing names again, eh?
Right time ~ right place walking into the hotel and got invited by several party guests to join the arrival ceremony of a Tibetan style wedding, traditional dresses, fireworks, horses and modern cars......

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Right time ~ right place walking into the hotel and got invited by several party guests to join the arrival ceremony of a Tibetan style wedding, traditional dresses, fireworks, horses and modern cars......

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Another great day out chasing Yak around a mountain lake and forest logging trail riding in the mountains nearby Shangrila......

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

....Trail riding in the mountains nearby Shangrila......

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Yak, they are present everywhere in the region, either roaming the grasslands fully assembled or on display in restaurants and shops in parts...

The Yak is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.
English word "Yak" is a loan originating from Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: 'bri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.





























Chasing Yak during the day and have them for dinner as burgers or ribs ~ priceless...
Delicious Yak dishes below were expertly prepared by the talented Chef's at Hylandia Hotel (Shangri-La International Hotel Group).

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Heading North out of Shangrila (Zhongdian) for a high altitude ride, trying to get to the mountain lakes but too early in the year and all the lakes are still covered with thick ice, great views along the mountain ranges towards Langdu...

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Quick ride over to the Dabao Temple (Ringha), in Tibetan, Dabao indicates a holy place of five Buddhas. Originally established as a temple of Kaggupa in the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty, it was converted to Gulugpa as an affiliate of Songzanlin Monastery in the region of Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty. Before being converted into an affiliate of Songzanlin Monastery, Dabao was known for its White Sect Masters who chose to practice Buddhism here.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

The Road to Abuji
Brilliant trail and mountain riding during a cold and chilly but sunny day with awesome blue sky in the mountain ranges nearby Shangrila (Zhongdian), friendly mountain folk and welcoming monks at isolated monasteries....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

The Road to Abuji

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR