The Road to Shangri-la

I have had the good fortune to travel to Western China and Tibet in the company of my companion who is an economist specializing in this area of the world. It is the same area studied and photographed by the noted botanist and photographer, Joseph Rock and it also the same area the Chinese claim is the place that James Hilton wrote about in his book the “Lost Horizon.”

Joseph Rock was an extraordinary man. He lived in Western China from the early 1920s until 1949 when he was forced to leave because of Mao’s revolution. He was Austrian born and was supported by Harvard to study the botany of this area. On his work in this area, he would be notable but he accomplished much more. He was also a photographer, travelled widely , and documented the people and the land in which he lived. He was published in National Geographic a number of times between 1922 and 1931. He also single-handedly resurrected the Dongba culture and language of the Naxi people from obscurity. He is fondly remembered by the Chinese to this day, especially the Naxi whose culture is now thriving.

“Shangri –La” is a mythical place invented by the author Jame Hilton who never actually visited Asia. However, thanks to the ever resourceful Chinese, with an eye to the tourist dollar, it now exists. The city of Zhongdian has been re-named “Shangri-La”. This also demonstrates the optimism of the Chinese. Having visited this city,I can reassure you that it does not resemble the utopian place that James Hilton had envisioned.

So it is with both a sense of respect and whimsy that I have created these images. I have tried capture an essence of place rather than a literal record. I have tried to see the world that Joseph saw but have remembered that I live in a different time as do the people who live in this region.

Ray Van Nes
Photographer