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 In. 1933, English novelist James Hilton wrote a
captivating tale of an idyllic settlement high in a secluded
mountainous valley. Entitled Lost Horizon, it describes a world
often chanted pavilions perched between the high mountains and the
fertile Blue Moon Valley. Today, even those who have never heard
of Lost Horizon, the words "Shangri-La" evoke images of utopia.
Hilton said his readers would not find Shangri-La on any map but
suggested that Shangri-La was located in a long valley with
"rounded, sad looking hills on either side'' and capped by the
"loveliest mountain on Earth".
It was almost a perfect cone of snow, simple in
outline as if a child had drawn it. "Italian-American film
director, Frank Capra snapped up the tights to Lost Horizon and
cast Ronald Coleman and Jane Wyatt in the 1937 film version. ``I'm
sure there's a wish for Shangri-La in everyone's heart Oh, I just
wish the whole world might
 come to this valley, "crooned Wyatt.
The film won the 1937 Academy Award for Columbia Pictures . Ronald
Coleman and Jane Wyatt in de 1937 film, Lori orison. photo and
above South China Morning Post, 29, 1997 Though neither Hilton or
Capra ever stepped foot in the region, many speculate that
Hilton's Loa Horizon was inspired by a series of articles
published from 1924 to 1935 by National Geographic magazine - that
included accounts of Joseph F. Rock's expedition of North west Yunnan Province.
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