This Northern California Town is the Closest to ‘Shangri-La’ According to the Author Who Coined the Term

Shangri-la is a fictional place featured in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon written by British author James Hilton. While on a lecture tour in 1941, Hilton was asked a simple question: In all your wanderings, what’s the closest you’ve found to a real-life Shangri-La?
“A little town in Northern California,” he responded. “A little town called Weaverville.”
In the novel, Hilton describes the fictional town as a mystical, harmonious valley sitting in the Kunlun Mountains, the longest mountain chain in Asia. The term Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise which happily sits isolated from the world. In the novel, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living hundreds of years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance.
There are a few reasons Hilton may have compared Weaverville to Shangri-La, most notably its geographical location near the Trinity Alps and its history of Asian influence. A drive through Weaverville will bring you back to the gold-rush era of the 1800’s. Today, you’ll find gold-era saloons, quaint shops and beautiful wilderness views.

In the novel, Shangri-La is a slow-moving, isolated town which has become to the modern-day moniker to describe an earthly paradise. For Hilton, their are probably a couple reasons why it is so similar to Weaverville.
One of the most obvious relations to Shangri-La is the town’s Asian influence. The Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park is a great place to spend some time. It might be the most unique park in the area, sitting as the oldest continuously used Chinese temple in California. Visitors will see Chinese art objects, pictures, mining tools, and wrought iron weapons used in the 1854 Tong War.
There’s also Weaverville’s proximity to the Trinity Alps, which tower over the town and provide the crystal-clear water flowing nearby. The Trinity Alps rise high above valley floor below, reaching heights of 9,000 feet. With massive glaciers feeding high-alpine lakes and rivers, the Trinity Alps Wilderness is one of the most underrated outdoors destinations in California.

Lost Horizon‘s Shangri-La is a mountainous utopia that seemingly moves at a different pace than the rest of the world, with its residents given the earthly time to enjoy their cast outdoor surroundings. That certainly sounds like Weaverville to me. If you want to live a little bit longer than the rest of the world, it might be worth a visit.
I lived in Weaverville from 1960-1966 while in 7th through 12th grades. It truly was a paradise, at that time basically untouched by the craziness of the 60’s. My parents continued to live there for many years. I left my heart in Weaverville, CA.
Shirley (Gould) Eckenboy
It’s hard to come by well-informed people about this topic,
but you sound like you know what you’re talking
about! Thanks
Its like you learn my mind! You appear to understand a lot about this, such as you wrote
the guide in it or something. I feel that you could do with some p.c.
to pressure the message home a bit, however instead of that, that is wonderful blog.
An excellent read. I will definitely be back.
Hi there i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this
piece of writing i thought i could also create comment due to this brilliant
paragraph.
This paragraph is truly a good one it helps new the web viewers, who are wishing for blogging.
I get pleasure from, lead to I found just what I was having a look
for. You’ve ended my 4 day lengthy hunt!
God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an email.
I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it develop over
time.
Valuable info. Lucky me I discovered your site by chance, and I’m shocked why this coincidence did not
came about in advance! I bookmarked it.
It’s the best time to make a few plans for the longer term and it is time to be happy.
I have learn this publish and if I may I desire to counsel
you some interesting things or suggestions.
Maybe you could write subsequent articles referring to this
article. I wish to read more issues approximately it!
Very good post. I am experiencing a few of these issues as well..
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home
a little bit, but instead of that, this is great blog.
A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may return yet again since i have book marked
it. Money and freedom is the best way to change,
may you be rich and continue to guide others.
I visited multiple websites but the audio quality for audio songs present at this web site is actually superb.
Hi there, the whole thing is going fine here and ofcourse every one is sharing
data, that’s in fact fine, keep up writing.
Keep this going please, great job!
This is the perfect webpage for everyone who wishes
to understand this topic. You know a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic which has
been written about for a long time. Wonderful stuff, just excellent!
Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out.
Please let me know where you got your theme. Kudos
Thanks for finally talking about >This Northern California Town is the Closest
to ‘Shangri-La’ According to the Author Who Coined the Term – Active
NorCal <Liked it!
Hi, everything is going nicely here and ofcourse every one is
sharing facts, that’s truly good, keep up writing.
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard
work due to no data backup. Do you have any methods to stop hackers?
Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found
that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels.
I will be grateful if you continue this in future. Lots of people
will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this,
like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some
pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful
blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
My relatives always say that I am wasting my time here at web, however I know I am getting experience everyday by reading thes nice articles.
It’s in reality a nice and helpful piece of info. I’m glad that you simply shared
this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this.
Thanks for sharing.
You actually make it appear so easy along with your presentation however I in finding this topic
to be really one thing that I feel I’d never understand.
It sort of feels too complex and extremely vast for me.
I am looking forward in your subsequent publish, I’ll
attempt to get the grasp of it!