When the English novelist James Hilton chose to locate the action of his romantic adventure Lost Horizon in Shangri-la, he gave his native language a new xord.Shangri-la and the isolated utopian community it supported were presumed to be real.

If Shangri-la were to exist in reality rather than myth, then Tibet would be one of the most likely locations. The country could rightly be considered the most remote on Earth, almost impossible to reach, and unwelcoming to foreigners.It is ironic that barbarians skin to those foretold by Lost Horizin's High Lama should seek for their own ends the secret utopia, where holy men live in peace and harmony. Shangri-la continues to symbolise for people a serenely tranquil place, within the boundaries of which all human desires are satisfied.