I. Ticket information
Standard ticket price: adult ticket 90 yuan/person, including ticket 55 yuan, round-trip sightseeing bus 20 yuan, explanation service 15 yuan; student ticket 62 yuan/person, including ticket 27 yuan, round-trip sightseeing bus 20 yuan, explanation service 15 yuan. Tickets can also be purchased separately. The price is 55 yuan/person, and you need to communicate with the conductor on the spot.
• Preferential policies: free tickets for the elderly over 70 years old, children under 1.2 meters, the disabled, active/ex-servicemen, etc., and you need to pay for sightseeing buses and explanation fees; children aged 60-69, minors aged 6-18, full-time primary and secondary school students (under 24 years old) and other tickets are half price.
• How to buy tickets: You can buy tickets through online platforms such as Ctrip and Qunar.com. By default, it includes round-trip tickets and explanations, and you need to make an appointment in advance. You can also buy tickets at the ticket office of Kadan Songzanlin Temple, and you can flexibly choose whether to buy tickets and explain.
II. Opening hours
It is open from 7:40 to 18:30 throughout the year. It is recommended to enter as soon as possible to avoid the peak flow of people.
III. Traffic Guide
•Public transportation: You can take bus No.3 or No.16 in Shangri-La, and get off at the "Songzanlin Temple Parking Lot". On the way back, you can take the No.3 bus back to Dukezong Ancient City at the temple gate. The ticket price is 2 yuan.
• Taxi: Take a taxi for about 5-6 kilometers from the ancient city of Dukezong, and the cost is about 15 yuan.
• Self-driving: Directly located to the "Kadan Songzanlin Temple Ticket Office", the scenic spot provides a parking lot, and the fee refers to local standards.
IV. Must-visit scenic spots
• Zhacang Hall: It is the highest institution of the temple and one of the core buildings of Songzanlin Temple. There are exquisite murals in the hall, which are painted with mineral pigments and are still brightly colored after 300 years, depicting rich Buddhist stories. There are also many Buddha statues in the hall, with exquisite craftsmanship, long ghee lamps, smoke, and a solemn religious atmosphere.
• Jikang Hall: Also known as the Tsongkhaba Hall. In front of the statue of Baojin Shakyamuni in the hall, the ghee lamp is bright and does not go out. The "Xingsheng Fan" brocade is also treasured here, which is a gift received by the monks after supporting food during the Long March of the Red Army in 1936, which is of great historical significance.
• Ram Yangcuo Lake: Located opposite Songzanlin Temple, the water of the lake is as clear as a mirror, which contrasts with Songzanlin Temple, forming a beautiful picture scroll. There is a plank road along the lake. Visitors can stroll along the plank road, enjoy the mountain scenery of the lake and the reflection of Songzanlin Temple, and take a panoramic reflection of the temple at the long-range shooting point by the lake, which is very suitable for photography enthusiasts.
• The meridian corridor: The meridian corridor of Songzanlin Temple is a place full of sacred atmosphere. There are meridian cylinders arranged on the corridor. Visitors can turn the meridian cylinder clockwise to feel the piety and faith of Tibetans. It is said that turning three times clockwise is of special significance.
• Observation deck: Located at the back of the temple, climb up the steps next to the main temple, and it will take about 15 minutes. Standing on the observation deck, you can overlook the whole picture of the Songzanlin Temple. The staggered buildings, the barley fields surrounding the temple, and the mountains in the distance constitute a beautiful Tibetan picture scroll, especially at sunrise or sunset, and the scenery is more shocking.
• Zaya Tusi Manor: From the sightseeing bus stop, you can visit Zaya Tusi Manor first. The architecture here is rich in color, which allows visitors to understand the Tibetan Tusi culture and is also a good place to take photos.
V. Tour route
• Lake plank road line: about 1 hour, passing through the pontoon bridge, long-range shooting point, Ramyangcuo Square, etc., suitable for photography enthusiasts. The route is Songzanlin Temple Gate Building - Floating Bridge - Long-range Shooting Point - Yutorisheng - Shenshu - Small Street - Ramyangcuo Square - Shenquan - Songzanlin Temple Observation Deck.
• Essence route: about 1.5 hours, you can go deep into Zacang Hall, Jikang Hall and Sakyamuni Hall to experience the core of religious culture. The route is Songzanlin Temple Gate Building - Tsongkhapa Hall - Zhacang Hall - Main Kang Shakyamu Buddha Hall.
VI. Photo location
• Ramyangcuo Lake Boardwalk: Walk 200 meters along the lake to the position of the pontoon bridge, and you can take pictures of the whole temple.
• East-turn road light and shadow wall: At about 4 p.m., the sun cuts diagonally across the red wall, and the mottled light and shadow is cast when the cylinder rotates, which is suitable for taking side photos.
• Gulong Village Observation Deck: It overlooks the panoramic view of Songzanlin Temple, and the scenery is best in the morning or dusk.
VII. Food Recommendation
•Yak beef hotpot: Minzhulam (the ancient city of Dukezong), Bodhi Gaya palace Tibetan bar, cordyceps flower/松茸 soup base, with barley cake, per capita 80-90 yuan
• Butter tea + barley cake: Mom's butter tea (Jinlong Street in the ancient city), salty and sweet optional, ghee tea 15 yuan / pot, barley cake 8 yuan, warm the body and relieve the high reaction
• Hand-grabbing lamb chops: Bodhi Gaya Palace Tibetan Restaurant, the meat is tight and non-stain, dipped in chili noodles, about 60 yuan per person
• Tibetan earth pot chicken: Lulang stone pot chicken, with palm ginseng, delicious soup, with barley cake, 80 yuan per person
• Yak yogurt: ancient city shop, mellow, sour and sweet, with honey, about 20 yuan/serving
VIII. Accommodation Recommendation
• Songzan Linka Hotel: next to Songzanlin Temple, Tibetan manor, facing the pagoda, including Tibetan afternoon tea, free tickets, starting from 2,800 yuan/night
• barley courtyard: Dukezong ancient city, Tibetan-style wooden house, including Tibetan-style breakfast, oxygen supply, enthusiastic boss, from 300 yuan/night
• Fengren Boqi Inn: in the ancient city, floor heating + humidifier, free butter tea, the boss's wife is a living strategy, from 100 yuan / night
• Shili Xueshan Homestay: Napa seaside, container wild luxury tent, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the grassland, Tibetan clothing travel shooting from 800 yuan, about 1500 yuan / night
IX. Precautions
• High anti-counterprevention: Songzanlin Temple is about 3,300 meters above sea level, drink glucose water or Rhodiola 1-3 days in advance; avoid strenuous exercise, drink more water, and prepare oxygen cylinders (20 yuan/bottle in pharmacies, scenic spots 50+). When you have a headache, take oxygen + rest, and see a doctor in time if you have serious discomfort.
• Dress etiquette: shorts and skirts are forbidden in the temple, wear long trousers and long sleeves; take off your hat and take off your sunglasses, do not step on the threshold, turn the meridian / pagoda clockwise, do not use your fingers for Buddha statues, it is forbidden to shoot in the hall.
• Weather and protection: large temperature difference between day and night (5-20℃), prepare jackets/down jackets, sunscreens, rain gears; strong ultraviolet rays, with SPF50 + sunscreen, sunglasses, wide-brimmed hat.
•Transportation and ticket purchase: about 15 yuan by taxi to the temple in the ancient city, 2 yuan for bus 3/16; ticket 90 yuan (including sightseeing bus + explanation), there is a discount for students/the elderly, and online booking is more worry-free.
•Tips for avoiding pits: Roasted yak beef in the scenic area is carefully selected, and the ancient city "Yak Beef Street" is more authentic; Tibetan medicine is bought in Diqingzhou Tibetan Hospital, and silver jewelry recognizes the "Zaxidler" chain store.