text: where is shang-rila? what is your definition of utopia? is paradise an island sandbar in your mind? or a house and a home in the burbs? what is paradise? shangri-la is an imaginary land depicted in the novel lost horizon (1933) by james hilton. a remote beautiful, imaginary place where life approaches perfection: utopia. my definition of utopia is a place without violence, or fear, no one is hungry, no one has worries, everyone is happy, healthy, and we all live in harmony.  my idea of paradise? bhutan, in northern himalaya.