Dukezong Ancient Town is located in the southeast corner of Shangri La County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and was built by the Tubo Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty. Dukezong "is a Tibetan pronunciation that means" Moonlight City "and" Castle Built on Stone ". The ancient city was built along the mountains, and the road surface was paved with stone slabs, naturally undulating. To this day, the imprints of horse hooves can even be seen on the stone paved road, which is a token left by the ancient caravan.
The architectural layout of the ancient city is like an eight petal lotus flower, with the Moonlight Square at the center, surrounded by quaint Tibetan style wooden houses one after another, where local people live peacefully. On the west side of the square is the Big Turtle Mountain, also known as Turtle Mountain Park. On the top of Turtle Mountain, there is a Guinness World Record world spinning tube that requires three people to work together to rotate. Sifang Street on the northwest side of Guishan Park always attracts a large number of tourists to participate in the Tibetan Guozhuang dance every night. If you happen to encounter it, be sure to join in this joy.
The courtyard on the north side of Moonlight Square is the "Diqingzhou Red Army Long March Museum". The entrance of the museum is the Central Town Hall, also known as the Tripitaka Hall, built in the Qing Dynasty. Its architectural style integrates Han, Tibetan, and Naxi elements, and is of great ornamental value. To the south of the Long March Museum is the Diqingzhou Museum. The museum displays cultural relics from the Neolithic Age and Tibetan medicine. Why not come here to observe.
Most of the folk houses in the ancient city have been transformed into inns, restaurants and shops. The shops sell Tibetan knives, yak meat, Tibetan ornaments, etc. with local characteristics. The restaurant meals are mainly Sichuan cuisine and Tibetan food. You must not miss yak meat hotpot, butter tea, tsamba, etc. The inns are mainly characterized by Tibetan characteristics, and the prices are slightly higher than those of Xincheng hotels, but the advantage is the rich atmosphere, with a continuous flow of people every day.
The Dukezong fire that occurred on January 11, 2014, turned a large number of Tibetan houses into ruins, which is a great pity. But strolling through it, one can still recognize the glory of the ancient city back then.
Travel Tips
Address: Kangzhu Avenue, Shangri La City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Telephone: 0887-8887666
Opening hours: Open all day
Ticket: Free