Shangri-La Reduced to Rubble; Only National-Level "Zhongxin Zhen Tang" Saved

▲ Dukezong Ancient Town in Shangri-La, Yunnan, with a history of 1,300 years, suffered a severe fire, with over half of the urban area razed. (Photo / EastIC)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Ruthless flames! In the early hours of the 11th, a fire broke out in Dukezong Ancient Town, a famous tourist attraction in Shangri-La, Yunnan, China. The blaze raged for over 10 hours and was not brought under control until nearly 11 a.m. on the 12th. It is understood that more than half of the buildings in the ancient town’s core area, including the well-known Square Street, were destroyed — around 250 houses in total, many of which were Tibetan historical relics.Fortunately, the nationally protected building "Zhongxin Zhen Tang" escaped the disaster.

▲ Dukezong Ancient Town in Shangri-La suffered a severe fire, with numerous buildings destroyed. (Photo / EastIC)

According to Xinhua News Agency, the fire in Dukezong Ancient Town was extremely severe. "The ancient town is now full of rubble, with almost nothing left in the core area. Smoke is still rising everywhere, and even the glass scattered on the ground has melted." The provincially key protected building "Abu Old House," as well as two other state- and prefecture-level protected structures — two traditional houses and the Zhuji Shop in the Jinlong Street area — were completely burned down, with losses exceeding 100 million yuan.

On the morning of the 12th, snow began to fall over Shangri-La County, covering the ancient town in white while the air still carried the smell of charred remains. Rescue workers and residents began clearing the debris and searching the burnt buildings for any remaining cultural relics. The silver lining is that the only national-level cultural relic protection unit in the ancient town, "Zhongxin Zhen Tang," remained almost undamaged thanks to the full efforts of firefighters.

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It is reported that the fire affected three communities within the ancient town: Cangfang, Jinlong, and Beimen, involving approximately 335 households. Over 2,600 residents have been temporarily relocated to the Diqing Prefecture Red Army Long March Museum. As winter is the low season for tourism and most visitors are independent travelers, there have been no reports of tourist injuries so far.

"Dukezong" means "Moonlight City" in Tibetan. The ancient town was built during the Tang Dynasty and is entirely constructed from wood, boasting a history of 1,300 years. It preserves the largest Tibetan residential complex in China and is also a key stop along the ancient Tea Horse Road as well as a necessary passage on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.The Tea Horse Road refers to the ancient trade routes connecting central China with the southwestern and northwestern frontiers, where tea and horses were the primary goods exchanged. Flourishing during the Tang and Song dynasties and reaching its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it served as a corridor for economic and cultural exchange among ethnic groups in southwest China.

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