Cultural Activities, what to experience in Shangri-La

Shangri-La is rich in cultural activities that reflect its deep Tibetan roots and diverse ethnic influences. Visitors can experience traditional Tibetan practices like participating in religious festivals. The area is also known for its vibrant arts, including Benzilan wooden bowl painting, intricate thangka painting, and tie-dyeing, especially among the Bai ethnic group. You can also immerse yourself in local life by visiting Tibetan family homes, where you can learn about their customs, sample traditional foods, and witness daily rituals that have been passed down through generations, making Shangri-La a destination where heritage and everyday life intertwine seamlessly.

Experiencing Tibetan culture

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Food/ History/ Art & Architecture
• Tour Length : Half a day
• Location: Shangri-La County

Diqin Prefecture of Yunnan is one of the fantastic places to experience Tibetan culture outside Tibet. Near the border of Yunnan and Tibet, visit a Tibetan’s house to understand local’s daily routines and Tibetan food culture. Try yak butter tea, yak cheese and khapse, as the host tells you the stories about his family living here for generations. Khapse are prepared as offerings, festive gifts or simply a teatime snack. It is often enjoyed with yak butter tea or sweet tea. It comes in variety of shapes, such as long khapse, lotus shape, braids, and crispy circle. Tibetan believed that this food also helps to ward off bad luck. Get the opportunity of making khapse with the help of the host.

Learn the culture from the Tibetan, Tibetan prayer flags adorned with auspicious symbols, prayers and mantras are used to promote peace, compassion and wisdom. The five different colours of the prayer flags represent the air, fire, water, earth, and space. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that the energy and mantras on prayer flags will be lifted by the wind to the universe, spreading happiness, good wishes and peace. Spot colourful prayer flags flutter in the wind in northern Yunnan. During this trip, we will print our own prayer flag at a local’s house.

Benzilan Wooden Bowl Painting

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture/ History
• Tour Length : 1 hour
• Location: Shangri-La County

Tibetan like to use wooden bowls to drink yak butter tea and for daily use. It is not uncommon to see people carry small wooden bowls around with them. In the past, each person had only one wooden bowl in a lifetime. Wooden bowls is an inseparable part of Tibetan life. Craftsmen of wooden bowl pass on their intangible cultural heritage from generation to generation.

One of the best Tibetan wooden bowls is made from Benzilan Town in Diqing. Making wooden bowl is not easy. To make wooden bowl, craftsman need to select suitable solid wood pieces, which are usually trunks and knots from birch tree and Tung trees. Wooden bowl can be polished and left unpainted or can decorated with beautiful designs and patterns, sometimes even adorned with a layer of silver carved with exquisite patterns.

Visit a local Tibetan craftsman, watch him shaping and polishing the wooden bowls before learn to paint some Tibetan-style designs on the wooden bowl. By the end of the session, bring home your handicraft as souvenir of this trip.

Puja Ceremony at Ganden Sumtseling Monastery

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture/ History
• Tour Length : Half a day
• Location: Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery in Shangri-La

Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 3,400 metres in elevation in Diqing Prefecture. First built in 1679, this combination of Tibetan and Chinese-style architecture is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan.

In this half day tour, not only will you visit the monastery, but also participate in Puja ceremony. Puja ceremony or the prayer ceremony is made up of ritual, chanting, meditation, prayers and mantra, which mainly assist in people’s quest to deal with difficulties in their life, overcome suffering and to attain freedom for samsara and to attain enlightenment. Receive khata from the monk upon arrival and give one back as return, which is Tibetan way of welcoming and to give blessings to visitors. We will participate in puja ceremony and listen to monks’ chanting. In the monastery, sometimes you can see groups of monks debating in the courtyard. Due to the high altitude, you are advised to arrive one day in advance to get acclimatized. Also, prepare enough clothing when visiting.

Learning Tie-dyeing

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ History/ Art & Architecture
• Tour Length : Half a day

Learning tie-dyeing in Shangri-La offers a unique cultural experience. You'll start by choosing a piece of fabric, such as cotton or silk, and preparing it with a thorough wash. Then, you will use techniques like folding, twisting, or binding the fabric with rubber bands or strings to create different patterns. After securing the fabric, you apply various dyes to achieve vibrant and intricate designs. The fabric is left to set, allowing the colours to develop and bond. Once the dyeing process is complete, the fabric is rinsed and dried, revealing the distinctive and colourful patterns that showcase the traditional art of Bai ethnic tie-dyeing.

Matsutake Picking & Cooking Class

• Type: Food/ Nature & Wildlife
• Tour Length : 1 day
• Location: Shangri-La (matsutake)
• Month: July- August (matsutake); May- October (mushroom)

Yunnan’s mountains are remote, rugged and inaccessible, but below the canopy hides China’s riches natural treasure. There are only two seasons in Yunnan, rainy season and dry season. Rainy season in northern Yunnan is usually from late May to end of October. As rain fall upon Shagari-La, mushrooms in the pine and oak forest shoot up after every heavy rain. In the rainy season, we will spend no less than half a day either in forest of Shangri-La in search of matsutake or hunt for wild edible mushrooms deep in the mountainous region of Shaxi. Spend the rest of the day learning how to use these ingredients to prepare some delicious local gastronomy.

Thangka painting lesson

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture/ History
• Tour Length: 3-4 hours
• Location: Shangri-La Tangka Institute

Thangka is a religious Buddhist painting which usually shows the history of Tibetan Buddhism, famous Bodhisattva and Buddha. Thangka painting uses special pigments made from a mixture of mineral gemstones and plant powders combined with yak fat glue. These natural materials ensure that the Thangka paintings have vibrant colors and can be preserved for a long time. Even after hundreds of years, the colors remain bright and vivid.

Sometimes, The Thangka courses at the Shangri-La Thangka Institute offer a deep dive into the traditional art of Tibetan painting, you will find contiguous set of scenes blending one into the other in just one painting. This kind of painting is visually stunning and colourful. Some intricate paintings take months and even years to finish.

In Sahngri-la Tangka Institute, you will get to learn how to paint simple thangka painting from a local thangka painter. Learn how to secure plain woven fabric or canvas on wooden frame and mix different pigments before concentrate on painting. You can bring home your art work as a souvenir.

Tibetan Incense Experience

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture/ History
• Tour Length : 2 day
• Location: Shangri-La

Tibetan incense originates from Tibet and was introduced to Shangri-La along with Tibetan Buddhism. Traditional handcrafted Tibetan incense is known for its ability to purify the air, prevent influenza, and act as a disinfectant. It also has calming effects, helps to focus the mind, soothe anxiety, and refresh the spirit.

Made from local natural herbs and unique Tibetan medicinal formulas, the incense is crafted through various processes including grinding, mixing, and simmering. The final product embodies the essence of Tibetan culture. You can participate in its creation and even make your own incense sachet to take home as a souvenir.

Tibetan Black Pottery

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture/ History
• Tour Length:1.5-2 hours
• Location: Shangri-La

Tibetan black pottery is a national intangible cultural heritage with a history spanning over a thousand years. The art of Nixi black pottery has been passed down through countless generations, preserving ancient production techniques that are still used in daily life today.

In Tangdui Village, there is a century-old experience center where visitors can learn about the process: "It involves many steps including soil collection, sun-drying the soil, grinding, sieving, mixing, molding, inlaying, air-drying, polishing, firing, smoking, and applying yogurt residue water." On this mystical land, the wisdom and creativity of the people are continuously passed down through the ages, creating a unique black pottery culture.

Reba handheld drum

• Type: Cultural Immersion/ Art & Architecture
• Tour Length : 1.5-2 hours
• Location: Shangri-La

Reba dance is a type of Tibetan folk dance performed to worship god. Sacrificial rites are held before the performance, while during the performance dancers will beat their handheld drums and dance to the rhythms. This Tibetan handheld frame drum supported by a handle is played with a crooked beater. Reba dance involves lots of difficult movements such as acrobatic and martial art. In this short session, you will have the opportunity to explore the unique charm of these traditional instruments and dances.

you will visit a local craftsman of Tibetan handheld drum, see how this instrument is being made, and learn to paint simple pattern that is commonly seen on the drum on cotton fabric or paper. You can take home the colourful painting you created on fabric. If you want to paint on the drum, you can buy one from the craftsman. But note that this handmade drum is quite expensive.

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