Anyone been to Shangri La / Zhongdian lately? Any advice on cheap places to sleep outside the Burt Over District?

I`m interested too. I want to visit Shangri La. I know one-way airplane ticket from Kunming will cost up to 1300rmb, taking bus will take you 12 hours and it will cost up to 120rmb one way. Will be thankfull for any information.

I just left there this morning; there's lots of hostels and hotels throughout what remains of the old town. I stayed at N's Kitchen & Lodge on the continuation of Chicika Rd., on the south side of Dawa Rd. It was ok (the yak burger there is great!), but there's several backpacker type places to choose from on this street, so you won't have a problem finding a room.

Hi, there are many places to choose from still and there are quite a few new places that have opened as well. We live on the south end of old town, a part that was not affected by the fire, and people are racing to get new guesthouses open.

Off-season, one-way plane tickets can be found around 400rmb if you're flexible on your dates. The bus is more like 220rmb one way.

If you take the bus you might see something.

If you take the plane and spend the 8 to 12 hours saved by looking around Shangrila or visiting Meili Snow Mountain you'll have seen more.

Or you can walk there!

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time — Stephen Wright

EDIT: That's weird. How can I edit a post made before the last one in a thread?

If you run that will be better cardio.

One doesn't really go to Shangri-La for the town anyway. You go for the mountains and for a little slice of Tibetan culture in Yunnan. To really appreciate the mountains you need to spend a good chunk of time getting into them, either in a 4WD vehicle, or by bicycle or foot. However, if your time is limited, it's possible to rent a bike in Zhongdian and just ride around the surrounding valley. There are nice Tibetan villages and some nearby hikes you can do as daytrips.