Sign language

BBC One London

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

BBC One

BBC 1

BBC1

BBC One (London)

London

BBC HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Sue Johnston

Alexis Girardet

Sue Johnston's Shangri La

Documentaries

Factual

15/02/2010

BBC One - Sue Johnston's Shangri La

Sue Johnston searches for the utopia of Shangri La, described in the novel Lost Horizon.

Sue Johnston searches for the fantasy world of Shangri La, described in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon. She travels through China and into Tibet, to the tiny village of Yipung.

Sue Johnston goes in search of her lifelong dream - the lost, fantasy world of Shangri La. 

Sue first came across the story of Shangri La as a 16 year old in 1959 when she watched the movie Lost Horizon with her mother on their first black and white television. The film was based on a book written by Englishman James Hilton in 1933. She read the book voraciously and has re-read it many times over the years since. As a child she was fascinated by the Orient and the mysteries of the Far East, but in those post-war austerity days the chances of ever following her dream, of finding the actual place, seemed an unattainable goal.

It looked like her dream would remain just that, as life took over and she got married, had a child, started a successful acting career and got divorced. The dream slipped further away into the dark, forgotten corners of her mind. Recently, as her life has changed, she has recalled her longed-for Shangri La. Her parents died, her son left home and settled into his own life, and her sense of mortality hit home. She decided that it was time to find the inspiration for the book, the story of Lost Horizon.

Sue's quest takes her through south-west China's Yunnan province and into Tibet, travelling over high mountain passes, into deep, hidden valleys and gorges, through bustling towns and ultimately on horseback to her final destination, the sacred mountain of Kawarkapo and the tiny, isolated village of Yipung - on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and the basis for James Hilton's novel.

The film is a contemporary travelogue and a journey into the private world of Sue Johnston. She changes and learns about herself, overcoming fears and exposing a previously private, emotional side.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Sue Johnston's Shangri La

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC One London

About BBC One