Xanadu Shangri-LaThe Honey Initiative
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Learning in the landscape

Follow the honey home.

Honey-Seeking hikes bring the story out of the jar and into the forests, apiaries, and communities that sustain it.

Hikers walking a riverside mountain trail toward the bee hives

On the trail to the hives

Beekeeper Zashi Cili at the apiary01 · The apiary

Bees before bottles

Beekeeper Zashi Cili explained that Tibetan beekeepers there harvest only about 30% of the honey each year, leaving the rest as the bees' own food. He said beekeepers like him treat bees as friends and as helpers of nature.

Playing the Xianzi in a local home02 · Xianzi traditions

The mountains as relatives

Qili Gerong never cuts down a whole tree to make his instruments: he works with the knotted burls that grow on trunks, taking only what a tree offers on its own. His practice offered another way to understand sustainability — a relationship with the landscape, rather than just a use of its resources.

White wild roses blooming on the mountainside03 · Forest walks

Flowers before flavor

The hikes invite participants to experience the honey's origins and consider how seasonal flowers, forests, and local knowledge connect to the food on their tables.

From the hiking trip

Plants and flowers near the hives

Prickly pear cactus beside mountain fields
Prickly pear cactus beside mountain fields
Pink wildflowers along the trail
Pink wildflowers along the trail
Red berries on a mountain shrub
Red berries on a mountain shrub
Broad-leaved climbing plant in the forest
Broad-leaved climbing plant in the forest
Wild plant growing among the grasses
Wild plant growing among the grasses

The landscape

Mountain stream below limestone cliffs
Mountain stream below limestone cliffs
Waterfall beneath an overhanging tree
Waterfall beneath an overhanging tree
A mountain stream winding through the forest valley
A mountain stream winding through the forest valley

Found along the way

A snake skin found on the trail
A snake skin found on the trail
A wood stick found on the trail, shaped like a pistol
A wood stick found on the trail, shaped like a pistol
Gloves worn as leg protection against bees
Gloves worn as leg protection against bees

Around the table

Sharing local dishes after a day in the mountains
Sharing local dishes after a day in the mountains

A return to Shangri-La

For the initiative's founder, the journey began with words like biodiversity and ecological resilience. Listening to local people showed that these ideas also live in everyday choices: leaving smaller mushrooms to grow, caring for bees through winter, and taking only what the landscape can spare.

Looking ahead · 2027

The next Honey-Seeking Journey

A return to Shangri-La is being planned for 2027. Dates, itinerary, participation requirements, and registration details have not yet been confirmed.