According to the legend, a venerable Buddhist monk has taken the way to Tibet to carry out a pilgrimage with his goat in the countryside. After 3 years of the whole trip, they stayed in the valley of Ringha where the goat refused to continue the way any further more. The monk then counts that it had found there as a sacred place, and decided to build a temple right there on the hill in the middle of this marvelous valley.

An eye-catching 24-meter (80-foot) tall golden prayer wheel sits on a hill. Though it was built recently for the sake of tourism, it has become an authentic item because local Buddhists now climb the hill to spin it to submit their prayers. You can twirl it, too, but do it only clockwise, as religious tradition dictates.

Some people would say that 8 miles from Shangri-la, there is a typical Tibetan village called Xiagei. That of course is assuming that you believe that all Tibetan villages are built to be tourist attractions.

Tianshengqiao Hot Spring Resort is located 10 miles away from the Zhongdian County. Shudugang River flows through a underground solution cavity from there, forming a natural limestone bridge.Under the bridge, you can find the river flows through the cavity from south to north.

Bodhidharma Cave is located at the joint place with Lijiang, Xianggelila and Delin, 15 kilometers from Tachen of Weixi County. It was said that Bodhidharma came here and found the mountain looked like a Buddha, he cognized it was matched with the Buddhist mind, so he climate up the mountain and cultivated his original nature in the cave for ten years, by the end he became the Buddha.

Yila grassland about six kilometers northwest of the county town is the largest and the most beautiful highland prairie in the county. During rainy season in summer, part of the grassland turns into a crystal clear lake.

Balagezong landscape possesses high, deep, extraordinary, completely and other features. Here has the first peak in the Shangri-La County, Balagezong Snow Mountain, Natural Stupa, Palm Gorge, and Tongtian Gorge, virgin forest, meadow, Plateau Lake and other natural sights. Here also have agelong historical legends, coexistence of various religious cultures, and attractive exploration of ancient histories relics. All of these are formed the “Shangri-La” mood with the harmony between human and nature.

The Grand Canyon of the Lancang River is famous for not only its deep and long vale, but also the rushing water. The river water is limpid and rushing in winter, but turbid and onrushing in summer. As the river becoming narrow in the Grand Canyon, high waves are striking against the banks and making a sound like thunder.

The Black Snub-nosed Monkey, also known as the Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey, is an endangered species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is endemic to China,[1] where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan Golden Hair Monkey and the Black Golden Hair Monkey. It is threatened by habitat loss.

First built in 1867 and rebuilt in 1909, the Cizhong Catholic Church is a model which combines the architecture features of both western countries and Chinas Tibet, Han and Bai ethnic groups. The church and its wing-room, gate, cellar and grape yard were well preserved by local government. It was listed as the key national cultural protection relics by the State Council in 2006.