2/35.- Shangri-La, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery

We will start our virtual visit to Shangri-la in the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery.

Zhongdian County was renamed Shangri-La County in 2001 by Chinese authorities after the fictional land of Shangri-La in the novel "Lost Horizon". Previously the county was called Zhongdian, among Chinese, and Gyalthang, among Tibetans. The capital of the county is also known as Shangri-La, before 2001 it was named Jiantang Town.

James Hilton was inspired by the Shangri-La of the Tibetan Buddhist Scriptures, where human beings, animals, and nature lived in harmony under the rule of a Tibetan Monastery.

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