Ａ Ｔａｓｔｅ ｏｆ “Ｓｈａｎｇｒｉ－Ｌａ”

For years I had heard the term “Shangri-La”， but， beyond vaguely understanding that it denoted a locality of great beauty and peace， knew nothing more about how the term originated or whether it was related to any place on Earth. I learned more about it during a recent visit to China.

A group of five members of the Sri Lanka-China Society visited the People’s Republic of China in September 2004 as guests of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). The group stayed in Beijing， Shanghai and Kunming with excursions to places of interest within and in the vicinity of each city. While there was much to see and marvel at and fill up our senses at each stage of our programme， this essay will be restricted for reasons of space to our days in Kunming.

Kunming is located in Yunnan Province in southwestern China. Yunnan is noted for its lovely scenery and very pleasant climate and is rumoured to be the location of the legendary “Shangri-La”. “Shangri-La” was conceived in the novel Lost Horizon， which the British author， James Hilton， wrote around seventy years ago. The novel develops a tale in which a plane makes a forced landing in a valley southwest of the Himalayas. Several people， who are on the plane， journey a long distance on foot and come upon an enchanting place called “Shangri-La”， where beautiful scenery complements the religious and social harmony among the various ethnic groups to which the inhabitants of the region belong. Ever since the publication of the tale， which is narrated in a very credible style， “Shangri-La” is used to denote a land of near-mythical charm， where people live in consonance with each other and with nature. It is claimed today that this near-mythical region of Shangri-La closely resembles that found in northwest Yunnan， both as regards its natural beauty and its peaceable peoples. Many attributes of this region also extend to other parts of Yunnan. Certainly， our visit to Kunming， the capital of Yunnan Province， and its surroundings proved to be a delightful experience.

One of the many highlights of our stay in Kunming was a visit to the major flower production and sales activity at Dou Nan Town， Chen Gong County. The flower market and greenhouses we visited had fine long-stemmed roses at low prices as well as anthuriums， arums and other lilies， gerberas， carnations， bird-of-paradise and orchids. The orchid plants in flower that we saw included hybrid phalaenopsis (moth orchids)， dendrobiums， oncidiums (dancing girl orchids) and some ladies slipper orchids. This writer has been interested in orchids and their growing as a hobby for some fifty years and noted that the plants were in excellent health with evenly coloured foliage and no visible indications of past or present virus problems or infestations with， for example， scale or red spider. A flower company， which we visited， had been founded in 1996 and plans to develop by stages into a first-class multinational group by 2024.

Our next visit was to the Stone Forest in Shilin County， some 89 kilometres from Kunming. The Stone Forest， which covers 350 square kilometres， is a magnificent sight of formations composed of limestone karst (n.b. It is the highest karst terrain in the world) and is a well-developed tourist attraction. Scattered at various points along the paths winding through the Stone Forest were well-tended beds of flower plants. It was noted that many of these beds were frequented by a host of varied colourful butterflies; some of which were quite large. This observation suggested that， although Yunnan is home to a major agricultural activity， by this criterion， at least in the vicinity of the Stone Forest， the use of pesticides has not been excessive.

The same evening， we enjoyed a spectacular show called “Fantasy of Colourful Yunnan” at the Kunming International Conference and Exhibition Centre.

The next morning we became the first group from South Asia to visit the Kunming Botanical Research Institute. During discussions with the Deputy Director of the Institute， one topic of particular interest to the present writer was whether certain populations of people may respond more readily than others to the beneficial effects of certain medicinal plants as their constitutions are pre-conditioned and more responsive due to their habitual consumption of appropriate spices in their diet. A visit to the Type Specimen Collections and the Botanical Gardens of the Research Institute and its plots of medicinal plants followed.

The afternoon was spent at the Park commemorating the World Horticulture Expo hosted by the Chinese Government from May 1 to October 31， 1999 with the theme “Man and Nature——Marching Towards the 21st Century”. The Park is 218 hectares in extent and the variety and quality of vegetables and flowers on display were as impressive as their layout and display. Mention should also be made of an exhibit which included peacocks， pheasants etc. We learned that the number of visitors to the Park， in general， far exceeded projections.

That evening in Kunming was spent searching for and purchasing some fine porcelain items to take home as souvenirs.

The last morning was spent at the Yunnan Nationalities Village. This is 90 hectares in extent and on the shores of Dianchi Lake. This is designed to give visitors an impression of the cultures prevailing in some 26 ethnic villages， such as those of the Dai， Bai， Yi， Naxi， Jingpo， Lahu， Bulang and Wa. Our delegation had the opportunity to view numerous ethnic costumes and observe (and participate in!) some dances etc.

Our visit to “Shangri-La” country and China came to a close that afternoon. We left with memories of very friendly and hospitable people and a way of life less complicated than in many parts of the world.