Xiangcheng
From World travel guide
Xiangcheng, (乡城 - Tibetan: Chatreng), is in Sichuan Province in south-west China. It also belongs to the ancient Tibetan province of Kham. Being a necessary overnight-stop on the 'Backdoor'-route to Yunnan, the town is a pleasant place to linger or to serve as starting point for excursions into the surrounding mountain areas. Coming over the mountain passes from either direction, you will at once spot the beautiful villages scattered amongst wheat-field-paddies in the valley ground. The large, cubicle houses look like little castles and with their white-chalked exterior walls give the whole valley a north-african air. Xiangcheng itself consists of an old village paired with a modern Chinese downtown.
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Get in
By bus
The Bus Station is at the southern end of town. The ticket-office is through the side-entrance of the building on your right hand side when facing uphill. Be sure to buy your advance-ticket on arrival, because buses can get crowded in summer.
| To | Departure | Price (Yuan) | Duration (h) | Last update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shangrila | ??:?? | 93.00 | 9 | 16 June 2005 |
| Litang | 07:00 | 61.00 | 5 | 16 June 2005 |
Get around
You can easily visit the town on foot.
See
- Tibetan Monastery. Newly build, the structure nevertheless conveys the typical Tibetan flair, with monks lingering around the ground and ravens flying over the bell-fitted tiers of the main temple. Perching to the slope at the foot of the temple are the housings of the monks, little cubicles beautifully decorated. Inside the temple there are some beautiful murals depicting the Buddhist way. You are not allowed to take photographs of holy relics. Behind the temple there is a small cemetery with prayer-flags and white ribbons adorning every bush. Admission-fee is 10 Yuan per person, though the surroundings of the temple are free of charge. To go there, follow the main road north out of the new city. After you passed a filling station, turn left to the trail leading uphill. You should reach there within 30 minutes. To return to the town, you can alternatively take a path just below the walls of the signal tower. Following the water-canal you have more nice views of the town and can descend to it whenever you feel like. :(Information as of 16 June 2005)
Do
- Hike to Bamu-Mountain Please view here for details: [1]
- Hike to the villages north of Xiangcheng
Buy
Small shops downtown provide typical Tibetan clothing and jewellery.
Supermarkets on main-street sell food and toiletries, you can also buy bottles of beer and decent Chinese wine to make up your own nightlife.
Eat
Plenty of small restaurants are to be found on the main road. Look out for Muslim-specialities where the restaurant sign bears Arabic writing, green color and dried meat and yak carcasses are displayed in front of the shop.
Drink
There is not much nightlife in town. To have a beer, simply visit a restaurant.
Sleep
Budget
- Bamu Tibetan Guesthouse, just behind the bus station: do not leave the bus station through one of the gates but walk 100m straight uphill between the buildings passing by the ticket-office and some single-storey buildings. Go through a small gate in the compound's wall and enter through another one into the guesthouse's court. The Bamu is in a terrific old cubicle-style building with lavishly decorated interior. There is access to the roof terrace providing lovely views of the town and the valley. The usual no-water squat-toilets are found in a small building at the back of the house. There is one shower for everybody, with warm water from 7 p.m. until it is used up, so queue early. Very basic English is spoken. Beds in the palace-like Dormitory are 18.-, doubles 50.-.
- (Information as of 16 June 2005)
- Some more hotels are to be found in the new town on the main street. Just leave the bus-station and head straight on.
Stay safe
Get out
External links
- http://khamaid.org/alternate_index.htm - A charity organisation helping with development in Kham.
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