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Shangri-la, a popular word after World War II and one frequently adopted by stores, hotels and restaurants, signifies a "heaven away from the turmoil of the mundane word". Actually, "Shangri-la" is a Tibetan word, which means "land of sacredness and peace." In today's on the road, we follow our reporter Wang Yiqiong to the peaceful and fascinating place of intact natural landscapes and simple Tibetan people.

Wang Yiqiong: We start our tour of Yunnun in the county of Deqen, with its endless emerald mountains and grasslands. Even from the airplane we could see the small town hidden between the mountains. It's the town of Zhongdian, popularly known in the West as Shangrila, the serene, mythical land described in James Hamilton's famous novel The Lost Horizon.

The county of Zhongdian, at an altitude of 3,300 meters is even today a natural paradise, undeveloped and unpolluted. Walking through the downtown area, there are few cars or tourists. The streets are quiet, the air is clean and the sky is blue.

Around 100,000 people live in Zhongdian County and the Tibetan people are the biggest nationality here accounting for more than 40 % of the population. They have many unique local customs, and one of them is their food. In the cool temperatures on the plateau, what do people eat to keep warm and keep their energy up? Let's hear what the local chefs have to say.

"The local cuisine in Tibetan region is Pipa Pork and Dry Beef. For dry beef, we only use the meat of real yaks which live at an altitude of over 3700 meters. To make Pipa pork, we kill home-grown pigs and take out their insides, put Tibetan salt and pepper inside and then sew it. We put the meat under a big stone to press the water out and after half a year we take it out and cook it, either steamed or roasted."

And when we try it, it's delicious. This unique cooking style brings out the flavor. But why do local people cook in such a way? What do they love dry meet and pickles so much? I asked Ms. Pan, the director of Deqen People's Radio Station. She also knows the local cuisine pretty well.

She says pickled food can be kept for long time and the winter here is long. Because the local Tibetan people are nomads they always spend a long time on the road, so animals hunted along the way must be pickled and brought along with them. Although nowadays they have refrigerators, they still keep our traditional way of cooking.

Except for dry yak beef and pork, local people also eat Qingke or Highland barley as their staple food, and Tibetan butter tea is also necessary at every meal. If you come to visit Zhongdian, you must taste it in person.

The Tibetan Buddhism is one of the most fascinating features of this region. Countless Buddhist temples are spread all over the land and the 300 year old Songzanlin Monastery is the most famous one.

More about Travel in Yunnan Province and Shangri-La:
Travel Express Vol.64: Fascinating Yunnan          Photo Gallery: Finding Shangri-La