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[moot point]

I've recently been reading James Hilton's "Lost in Paradise". This apparently is the first book to ever mention the word "Shangri-la".

For those who've read the book you'll be better informed about the general geographics of Hilton's ideas of where this lost paradise exists (written in 1930), although debate still continues of its location. PM me if you'd like to know my interpretations of this novel.

But by through this posting I want to know what modern travellers consider their Shangri-la.

[Echidna]

Yes, I too loved Hilton's book. I think people have been asking after and searching for Shangri-La forever; really, isn't that why most of us bumble around the world?

It seems likely that Hilton envisioned his mythical valley somewhere in the the mountains of SW China or her neighbors; Tibet, Nepal, or Bhutan.

Perhaps in northern Asia, in Mongolia or Tuva? Maybe farther west, in the rugged mountains of Kyrgystan?

One of the odder places that I've recently become aware of is the territory of Kalmykia; a chunk of Asia wedged into western Russia. Maybe?

Places like Tuva and Kalmykia are Shangri-La-esque to me, simply because they seem so other-worldly. I know if I actually went to these places, they would lose their status, so in a bizarre way, it's better just to imagine them.

Do you happen to remember a colorful book published about 15 years ago, (the title eludes me, but I THINK it was simply two names, *** and ***) that was a series of postcards, etc. from a mythical country? There was a story to it, a romance I think. It was quite a popular book, if memory serves, exactly because so many of us want to believe there is such a place in the world.

Where's your Shangri-La?

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

Doesn't exist.

[liehtzu]

The Chinese government has officially renamed Zhongdian in northwest Yunnan Province "Shangri-la" as they have proven (read: decreed without a shred of fact) that Hilton based his mythical city on Zhongdian. Well, if you've ever been to Zhongdian, Shangri-la it ain't. But there are some interesting places in the vicinity....

Good luck in yr quest.

Cheers.

[stillnosheep]

I am reliably informed that it is to be seen by the dashboard light (but for a more exact answer you may have to let me sleep on it..)

[Dolma]

A terrific Nepali/Tibetan restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC. Just opened a few weeks ago. Best dal bhaat in town!!!

[clyde]

Shangri-la is Lijiang city in Yunnan province

[stillnosheep]

.... but don't tell anyone!

[parrothead]

Omaha, Nebraska.

[schwa]

Hilton's book mesmerized me when I first encountered it as a young teenager. It set me to yearning after the peaceable wisdom of those lamas, which may well have altered my life course ever since.

Not as any sort of guidebook -- the novel itself is quite conventional & sentimental -- but as a spark that induced me to explore a wide range of less-trodden paths. I've learned something from each.

Now I'm an offbeat old guy & certainly far from perfected, but I think I'm close to recognizing Shangri La wherever I happen to be.

(The novel's titlle, by the way, is Lost Horizon.)

[Yu]

Went to the "Shangri-la" of China.... was so unimpressed.... but then again the friends I travelled with did not want to take the 6 hour bus ride to the snow mountains. I saw it from the plane (I think) and was impressed...

Lijiang is nice. I also like Yangshou.

[isanity]

Lijiang was Shangri-la. It's now a theme park for Chinese tour groups. Ladakh's nice.

[mick_luna]

the other book mentioned was "Griffin and Sabine" by Nick Bantok. There was a series of them. Nicely illustrated.

So why Lijiang and Ladakh? what make them Shangri-la-like? Has anyone seen the Frank Capra movie Lost Horizon? i haven't, but i loved the book. i think its what a lot of travellers and expats would like to find. of course, if we did, we probably wouldn't be accepted there, we'd be deported or exploited by local mafia ;0)

[isanity]