Could
British writer James Hilton’s imaginary paradise really exist?
According to people of Zhongdian, Yuannan Province, yes, it does exist.
Shangri-La, a land of eternal youth in Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost
Horizon, has fascinated people around the world with its picturesque
natural scenery and harmonious living environment. It is a place
surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forests, gorges, and lakes. It is a
place where many religions co-exist, and people of various ethnic
backgrounds get along in harmony. It is a paradise sought by men of all
colors and beliefs, a paradise that doesn’t really exist, or so people have believed.
However,
since the mid-1990’s, more and more people have come to believe that
there is indeed a place that resembles Shangri-La. Zhongdian County, a
small township in Yunnan Province, looks so much like Shangri-La that in
the summer of 2002, the Chinese government approved its request for a
name change, from Zhongdian to Shangri-La.
