Culture of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Tibet is world famous for its culture of Buddhism and holy mountains but its neighbor Diqing is a well-kept secret. When China drew the line around the autonomous region in 1951, they didn’t magically move all the Tibetan people and the centuries-old monasteries inside the new boundary…the Tibetan people and their culture live on in this far northwestern province of Yunnan. To navigate this far-flung world, we had the help of Songtsam Lodges, a small network of inns built into the Tibetan communities throughout the province, where we relished in local cuisine, hiked the holy mountains, and experienced the most impressive cultural event of all…the Gedong Mask Festival .