Shangrila - Reality or Fiction?

[bhchao]

The term "Shangrila" was made famous by James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, referring to a picturesque utopian society unaffected by the world's calamities. Many hotels have been named after this household name. In 1942 right after the Doolittle Raid, the Japanese wondered where the American B-25 bombers came from. FDR said the bombers came from Shangrila.

Since the setting for Lost Horizon was set in Tibet, it was widely believed that Shangrila existed somewhere on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Many expeditions have been launched to discover the true whereabouts of Shangrila. Several years ago the Yunnan government said it finally found "Shangrila", in Diqing.

However Lost Horizon was a fictional novel and Hilton may have used the term as part of his creative process in creating a fictional story. Also the Yunnan goverment's proclamation that Diqing was Shangrila may have been motivated by a desire to boost tourism in the area. Tourism in the area shot straight up shortly after.

Was Hilton's term purely fictional, or did he use it to describe a location in China that he actually visited?

[Yuchi]

reality, well, after he wrote the book.

http://www.shangrilaresorts.com.pk/History.htm

[amperel]

maybe he's read 陶淵明's《桃花園記》.

[bhchao]

Yuchi... but that doesn't count