Just how strongly this image is embedded in Western culture and
the power it can exert can be seen in the following examples.
During the Second World War Papua New Guinea was occupied by the
Japanese. After the Americans took the coastal areas, an aerial
survey of the region was ordered. During the survey, carried out
by a Myron Grimes, a beautiful green valley was discovered which
motivated him to pass on the story of an “undiscovered The idea
quickly fired the imagination of two war correspondents who
obtained permission to overfly the area and make low-level
photographs, which they did. The published story had two
effects. One was that military headquarters in Washington was
inundated with requests to emigrate to Shangri-La (despite the
fact that no-one from the West had ever set foot there). The
second was the formation of a Shangri-La Club. Membership was
restricted to those who had flown over the valley. In May 1945 a
group of 24 soldiers, including 8 women, organised an excursion.
The plane crashed wit