Lijiang and Shangri-La
Lijiang -
top nearby
attractions
Lijiang - pointers
Lijiang -
photo gallery
Shangri-La -
top
attractions
Shangri-La -
pointers
Shangri-La -
photo
Gallery
Lost
Horizon - book & film
Pronouncing Yunnan names
Yunnan
highlights map
Lijiang
/ Shangri-La home page
Beijing & environs
Forbidden City
Great Wall of China
Lama Temple
Summer Palace
Temple of Heaven
Tiananmen Square
Hong Kong & environs
Hong Kong Harbor/Cityscape
Hong Kong Restaurants & Shops
Tian Tan Buddha Po Lin
Shanghai & environs
Bund River Front
Jade Buddha Temple
Pudong/Shanghai Skyline
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Old City
Shaanxi
Qin Terra Cotta Warriors
Wild Goose Pagodas
Xi'an City Walls
Sichuan & Chongqing
Dazu Rock Carvings
Jiuzhaigou
Leshan Great Buddha
Shibaozhai Temple
Yangtze River Cruise
Tibet
Ganden Monastery
Jokhang Temple
Mount Everest with
Nepal
Potala Palace of Lhasa
Sera Monastery
Tashilumpo Monastery
Yunnan
Baishui Terrace
Lijiang & Shangri-La
Stone Forest
Three Pagodas
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Xishuangbanna
Yuan Yang Rice Terraces
Wonders in other China regions
Chengde Mountain Resort
Hanging Monastery
Huangshan Mountain Range
Jiayuguan Fort
Kaifeng Historical Sites
Labrang Monastery
Li River Cruise
Long Ji Rice Terraces
Longmen Caves
Mogao Caves
Mount Taishan
Pingyao Ancient City
Reed Flute Cave
Sanjiang Bridges
Shenyang Imperial Palace
Shouxi Lake
Silk Road
Suzhou Gardens & Canals
Three Gorges Dam
West Lake
Wudang Ancient Complex
Wulingyuan Scenic Areas
Yangshou
Yungang Caves
My other China pages
China wonder map
China home page
Chinese phrases
Chinese Cuisine
World wonders
More
Site map
About me and my credentials
About my website
Reader testimonials
Email me your opinion
Lost Horizons
page 3
Where
is Shangri-La?
Determining with certainty its precise geographical location is futile. Not only is Shangri-La fictional, the author James Hilton was vague about its specific locality.
However, he did narrow it down to "Tibet". That eliminates Nepal and Bhutan, but not Yunnan and Sichuan.
I base this on my historical research on Kham. When James Hilton penned Lost Horizon, much of the area where Yunnan and Sichuan converge with modern-day Tibet was part of the land then known as Kham. And, Kham was one of the three major sectors that defined Tibet at that time.
Moreover, James Hilton never set foot in Central Asia. His inspiration for writing his tale? Chances are it was a popular series of articles published in the early 1930s in the National Geographic magazine. They were written by botanist Joseph Rock, who explored the convergent area, which was unknown to most of the world.
China's
Shangri-La
In 2002 the Chinese government specified that China's Shangri-La was in the area where Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet meet.
China's
advantage
I believe all the non-Chinese areas claiming to be Shangri-La are stunningly beautiful like the Chinese area. Therefore, they also deserve a Shangri-La label. However, from a tourist's perspective, China has an important advantage: Its Shangri-La is more accessible in terms of transportation and local tourism infrastructure.
Wonders
of China - Locator map
sponsored ad
