Dukezong Old Town

Dukezong Old Town, a 1300-year old Tibetan town located in Shangri-la. It is the best preserved and largest Tibetan dwelling houses in China, and also the hub of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. In the years of 676-679 AD, Tubo (Tibetan regime in ancient China) set up a fort on the top of Dagui hill, named “Dukezong”, which contains two meanings. One is “the castle built on rock”, the other one is “moonlight city”. The ancient town was built around the fort on the top of Dagui hill. Dukezong Old Town is an important town on the Ancient Tea Horse Road and also the first stop after entering Tibet, you can still see the deep horseshoe marks on the stone road. In recent year, with the development of local tourism, the local government of Shangri-la has strengthened protection and repair of Dukezong Old Town, which has reproduced the charm of this ancient town. 

Dukezong Old Town Facts

-Chinese name: 独克宗古城

-Location: Kangzhu Avenue, Shangri-la, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province

-Time needed: 1-2 hours

-Entrance fee: Free

-Opening hours: Whole day 

Dukezong Old Town Legend

It is said that the idea of building the ancient city at that time was that there was a living Buddha looking at the ancient city from the top of the hill opposite the ancient city, and he found that Dagui hill was like Padmasambhava sitting on a lotus, so the layout of Dukezong Ancient City was like a lotus with eight petals. In the process of building the ancient town, most of buildings made with local materials. Craftsmen found a kind of white clay can be used as the paint for the exterior walls of houses, so the all the exterior wall of houses at ancient town are painted white, and this style has been used to this day. In the silver moonlight, the ancient city is particularly charming and tranquility, so the local people call it “Dukezong” which means white stone city and moonlight city in Tibetan.

What to See at Dukezong Old Town

This is an ancient town called “Dukezong” by Tibetans, it was built according to the ideal country of Shambhala in Buddhist scriptures. The layout of the ancient town is like a lotus with eight petals. The moonlight square in the center, and surrounded by traditional Tibetan wooden houses. Here have the best preserved and largest Tibetan dwelling houses in China, and also the hub of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. On January 11th, 2014, a fire broke out in Dukezong Ancient Town, and two thirds of the old town was destroyed. After renovation and reconstruction, it was re-opened to the public in 2016. After the reconstruction, the lighting effect of Dukezong old town is much better than before, and it is still worth to take few days during your Shangri-la tour.

Major Attractions

Guishan Park

Guishan Park is located on Guishan hill of Dukezong old town. The building on the top of the hill is called Chaoyang Tower, you can have a great bird’s eye view of the whole ancient town from the top of Chaoyang Tower. There is a ancient well at the foot of the hill, many people come here to fetch water every morning which has became a new scene of the old town. The prayer wheel in the park is about five stories high and is the largest one in the world. The prayer wheel is made of pure copper and gold, there are relief sculptures of the Four Bodhisattva, the bottom is engraved with eight treasures drawings of Buddhism. In addition, there are more than 1.24 millions sutras, wordless mantras and more than 16 tons of treasures were stored in the prayer wheel. Turning such a huge prayer wheel requires many people to push hard at the same time. It is said that if you turn this huge prayer wheel for three times, you can eliminate evil and pray for good luck.

Diqing Red Army Long March Museum

Diqing Red Army Long March Museum is located in the north of Moonlight Square in Dukezong Old Town. It is specially built to commemorate the Red Army’s entry into Diqing after crossing Jinsha River in 1936. The museum was completed and opened to public on Augest 20th, 2007, with a construction area of 2400 square meters. The exhibition hall displays the boats, guns, slogans, documents and books used by the red army when they entered Diqing, as well as daily necessities such as lanterns, medicine boxes, grain bags and water bottles. It also introduces the little-know stories of the long march with a large number of pictures.

Moonlight Square

The Moonlight Square is located at the foot of Guishan Hill Park. When passing by in the daytime, it is full of barbecue stalls. At night, it turns into a place for local Tibetan people’s leisure and entertainment. Tibetan people and tourist from all ethnic groups dance in a circle and enjoy the wonderful night. Diqing Red Army Long March Museum and Diqing Museum are located on both sides of the square. Standing on the square, you can also see the huge prayer wheel in Guishan Park. It is said that chanting the mantra and turn the prayer wheel three times will bring happiness and health.

How to Get to Dukezong Old Town

1. By bus: Travelers can take bus from Lijiang Bus Station which will take about 4 hours bus ride, the ticket cost is RMB86/person.People in the Shangri-la County can walk to Dukezong Ancient Town.

2. Private car: Easy Tour China can arrange private Shangri-la trip to Dukezong Old Town which will be more comfortable and convenient.