Songtsam Lodge Cizhong

Songtsam Lodge Cizhong on the banks of the Lancang River is the first winery lodge in Songtsam. Cizhong Village, where the lodge is located, is situated at the junction of Meili Snow Mountain and Biluo Snow Mountain, and is a village with a mixed population of seven ethnic groups, including Tibetans, Han Chinese, Naxi and Lisu. Among the farmhouses stands a Gothic building with Chinese eaves — the Cizhong Church rebuilt in 1905. French missionaries came here in 1898 to build the church, bringing with them viticulture and traditional winemaking. The lodge consists of four Tibetan-style stone and wood buildings, and its interior design is a fusion of Chinese and Western aesthetics, with a light-hearted, lively and subdued color scheme. Each room comes with an open balcony to enjoy the good weather and starry moonlit nights of the Lancang River Valley. The Songtsam Cizhong Winery has a capacity of 66 tons of wine per year and includes a fermentation plant, wine cellar and wine tasting room, where guests can learn about the winemaking process and sample wines from the Greater Shangri-La grape region. The lodge has both a Chinese and a Western restaurant, where creative Western food paired with wine is the main attraction, incorporating special ingredients from the Three Rivers region such as rainbow trout from Tacheng and black truffles from Gongshan.