Shangri-La It may be used in this context alongside other mythical and famous examples of somewhat similar metaphors such as El Dorado, The Fountain of Youth, and The Holy Grail. Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel "Lost Horizon" by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia – a permanently happy land, isolated from the world. In the novel, the people who live at Shangri-La
James Hilton (designer) James Hilton (designer) James Hilton is an English designer based in London. He co-founded the creative agency AKQA together with Ajaz Ahmed in 1995 and over twenty years grew it to become one the worlds most successful digital agencies. In 2014 Hilton left AKQA to found the experimental design studio AtelierStrange and custom motorcycle brand Death Machines of London. He joined the acclaimed design company Native as their Chief Creative Officer in December 2016. Hilton attended Southampton Solent University (then referred to as Southampton Institute of Higher Education) from 1990 to 1994. Hilton attended Southampton Solent University for four years.