OPENING RECEPTION Friday, 26th October 2012, 6-9pm Michael Yamashita will attend the event and will give a short presentation about his travels in Tibet and South-western China commencing at 7pm.

SHANGRI-LA – the name of the utopian lamasery described by novelist James Hilton in his 1933 novel, Lost Horizon, summons visions of a magical city floating high above the earth, hidden away amidst towering mountains, where the secret of eternal peace, youth and happiness might be found. While many places have claimed the honor and the name, there is no doubt the mysterious kingdom of Tibet and its outlying regions in western China were Hilton’s inspiration for Shangri-La. Renowned National Geographic photographer, Michael Yamashita has made numerous trips to this elusive paradse, exploring the routes to Tibet by following the legendary Chamagudao, the ancient Tea-Horse Road, which winds through dizzying mountain passes in a circuitous route from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China on its way to Lhasa, capital of Tibet.