Benzilan Town Overview
1. Basic Information
● Chinese Name: 奔子栏
● Area: 1,300 square kilometer
● Population: 8,900
● Zip code: 674501
● Dialing code: (+86) 0887
● Altitude: 2,022 meters
● Recommanded time for a visit: 1 day
●Best time for visit: October
●Accommodation: There are several hotels around Benzilan. When people come here, tired and hungry, the hotels can provide the delicious food and comfortable accommodation.
2. Location
Benzilan is located at the foot of Baimang Snow Mountain, on the west bank of Jinsha River, facing Shangri-La City and Derong County of Sichuan Province across Jinsha River, Benzilan is the only way to the “the Ancient Tea Horse Road”.
3. Administrative Division
There are 5 villages in Benzilan, namely, Benzilan Village (奔子栏村 ), Shusong Village(书松村), Yeri Village(叶日村), Duotong Village(夺通村 ) and Dari Village (达日村).
4. Climate
Due to the special geographic position, it belongs to the typical dry-warm valley climate with the rainfall of 374 mm in Benzilan. And the main rainfall is concentracted on May and June.
5. Best Time to Visit
Benzilan is very hot in summer due to the typical dry-warm valley climate. Compared with other months, October is the best time to visit Benzilan, it will not be too hot or too cold.
6. Things to Do
Benzilan is an important traffic route from ancient times to the present. What's more, there are many attractions around Benzian, such as Meili Snow Mountain, regarded by the public as the best spot to catch the fascinating sight of Meili Snow Mountain at sunrise or sunset . It’s a vital place to get into Yubeng Village, Baima Snow Mountain, Dongzhulin Temple, and Mingyong Glacier.
7. History
In 1950, Benzilan was Diliu District of Weixi County. In 1956, Benzilan established an office. In 1959, it was placed under the jurisdiction of Deqin County. In 1987, Benzilan District was changed as Benzilan Township. In 2002, Benzilan Township was changed as Benzilan Town.
8. Transportation
Benzilan, seen as the window of long-distance buses passing along the route of Shangri-La-Deqin, might not seem different from many other small Chinese towns , but get off here and you will be well rewarded. For one, given that it lies on the west bank of the Jinsha River, it is at the lowest altitude in the area and is considerably warmer than Deqin or Shangri-La in winter. Stray from the typical modern Chinese architecture of the main road and head down the hill to the river and you will pass many charming traditional houses, friendly locals.
9. Shopping
Most of the inhabitants around Benzilan are Tibetans. There are some typical local products that you can take, such as highland barly wine, ophiocordyceps sinensis and yak meat.
10. Recommended Hotels in Benzilan Deqin County
There are some hotels, which enjoy high reputation, such as Benzilan Lishi Hotel (德钦奔子栏丽世酒店), Xiangge Imperial Boutique Inn(香格皇家精品酒店), which are equipped with best facilities and best service.
