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By DU YONGBIN

SHANGRI-LA, mythical kingdom synonymous with Utopia, was the brainchild of American novelist James Hilton in his 1933 bestseller Lost Horizon . Hilton's inspiration came not from any personal travel experience in Tibet, but from articles by American botanist Joseph Rock, who lived in the Khams region (the area flanking the present-day border between Tibet and Sichuan Province) from 1922 to 1949.

In the Tibetan language Shangri-La means the place surrounding the source of happiness. It comes from the Buddhist sutra: to the south of the Himalayas lies a mysterious city, Shambhala, where the Buddhist Time-wheel Kalacakra Tantra is preserved. It is an idyllic place full of colorful palaces inhabited by healthy people, their souls protected by immortal monks.

In 1937, Frank Capra directed the film Lost Horizon , based on Hilton's novel, for Columbia Pictures. Its theme song, Shangri-La, became popular worldwide, and this mystical name has since been used in the same context as that of the Garden of Eden and Utopia. In the film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo , which chronicles the Doolittle raid of Tokyo during World War II, on being asked where the planes take off from, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt answers, "Shangri-La." Camp David's original name was Shangri-La, and since Robert Kuok Hock-Nien bought the rights to use it for his Shangri-La hotel chain, the name has been generally associated with resorts and hotels.

Tibet's remote geographical location and its distinct culture have caused misconceptions among Westerners that have read Lost Horizon of Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism. The region has consequently remained swathed in mystery right through to the 21st century.

A Fairyland?
For centuries, Tibet has been considered a paradise by Western explorers and travelers. George Orwell said that there is no better place for travelers than central Asia and Tibet. Magnificent topography -- the Himalayas, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), the Gangdise Mountains and the Yarlung Zangbo River, add to the region's allure, which is further enhanced by the region's distinct culture.

Bonism and Tibetan Buddhism were for centuries the region's guiding cultural influences. The pantheism and voodoo of Bon, and Tibetan Buddhism, encompassing Tantrism and the concept of the reincarnated soul of the living Buddha, religious rituals of dance, circumambulation, and full prostration, made them distinct from all other religions. (Source: China Today)

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