Shan·gri-La / ˈshanggri ˈlä/ a Tibetan utopia in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon (1933). ∎  [as n.] (a Shangri-La) a place regarded as an earthly paradise, esp. when involving a retreat from the pressures of modern civilization.

Shangri-la. A fictional hidden valley created by James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon (1933). Hilton's image of Shangri-la has some parallels with the Tibetan myth of Shambhala, of which he had at least a little knowledge from sources such as the missionary Abbé Huc and possibly the author-explorer Nicholas Roerich.

Shangri-La a Tibetan utopia in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon (1933); the term is now used for a place regarded as an earthly paradise, especially when involving a retreat from the pressures of modern civilization.