But on Saturday, part of the tourist district that has laid claim to the name in China's western Yunnan province was transformed into an inferno after fire spread quickly overnight through wooden houses, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Images showed a large part of the ancient town of Dukezong engulfed in flames and by day reduced to charred rubble. The fire, which broke out at 1:30 a.m., was not put out until 10:30 a.m. due to high winds and the large number of wooden structures in town, said Xinhua. It added that there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which destroyed 100 homes, Xinhua said.
A number of Chinese towns in and around Tibet have claimed the name of Shangri-La to attract tourists. In 2001 Zhongdian county, known by Tibetans as Gyalthang, was renamed Shangri-La in order to better stake a claim as a tourist hot spot. The 1,300-year old town of Dukezong is one of the major attractions in the Shangri-La area.
Over the past decade, the area has attracted growing numbers of Chinese tourists. Dukezong, once an important stop on the Southern Silk Road, is known for its wooden Tibetan houses and narrow cobblestone alleyways. It sits near a larger, modern city which hosts many of the tourists.
The fire is the most recent of a number of blazes that have struck Tibetan areas. Tibetan towns are traditionally filled with wooden structures, making them particularly susceptible to fires during dry winter months when antiquated heating systems are used.
Source: Wall Street Journal by Paul Mozur
from China Travel & Tourism News http://ift.tt/1iB6EFm
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