China: Heaven can wait  By Mark Fryer  Welcome, says the note in
the hotel room, to the place "designated as the official
Shangri-La by the Chinese Government".  The centre of this
officially specified heaven on earth is the town of Zhongdian in
Yunnan, southwestern China, also known as Gyalthang to its many
Tibetan residents and, since 2002, as Xianggelila/Shangri-La -
"but that's only for tourists", confides one of the locals,
unnecessarily.  This is rebranding and it's serious business.
The area's claim to be the real-life inspiration for Shangri-La
- the land where all is peaceful and good in the novel Lost
Horizon and film of the same name - was won only after stiff
competition from other parts of China.  The prize was tourists,
from abroad and from the country's more prosperous eastern
regions.  So now there's a new international airport with
"Shangri-La" in giant letters across the facade. And visitors
can stroll in Zhongdian's "old town", where they've knocked down
the old (but too new-looking) buildi