Songtsam Lodge Shangri-La Lvgu

Songtsam Lodge Shangri-La is the place where Songtsam began. In 2001, Mr. Pema Dorjee returned to his hometown and reconstructed his old house next to Songzanlin Monastery into the first Songtsam hotel. With unobtrusive Tibetan civil structures, the property faces Lamyangtso Lake, where waterfowl inhabit the shores and hillsides surround the water. Collection-grade Tibetan antique furniture, traditional Tibetan carpets, Buddhist statues and old thangkas can be seen everywhere in the hotel. This old house with a story, like Mr. Pema Dorjee's private museum, has been continuously refined and refreshed over the years. Originally named Gyalthang in Tibetan (Zhongdian in Mandarin Chinese), meaning 'in the field', the area was officially renamed Shangri-La after the paradise described in James Hilton's book Lost Horizon. Shangri-La is the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan and the ancient gateway to the Tubo Kingdom. Located in alpine meadows and valleys at an altitude of 3,300 meters, it offers rich landscapes of snow-capped mountains, virgin forests, meadows and lakes, and traditional Tibetan villages where people and animals live in harmony. Every morning at dawn, the elderly of Kena village circle outside Songzanlin Monastery, the monks chant, and the flames of butter lamps flicker.