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Laurence J. Brahm travels through the western region of China in search of Shangri-La - only to find that it is not a place, but a state of mind. Shangri-La has now become a source of creative inspiration, drawing China's leading figures in pop culture and art circles to western China, all in search of Shangri-La. China's leading cultural figures such as composer San Bao, dancer Yang Liping, and pop singer Dadawa appear in the book, together with artists, lamas, and living Buddhas. Searching for Shangri-La is China's first alternative philosophy travelogue.

Laurence J. Brahm is a global activist dedicated to action initiatives for ethnic diversity and culturally sustainable development. A lawyer and economist by profession, he served as advisor to the governments of China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Mongolia on financial, banking and enterprise reform throughout the 1990s, advocating practical solutions to development as alternatives to those espoused by the Washington Consensus. Since 2002 he has worked in the Himalayan plateau evolving new models of sensitive cultural and eco-tourism development through heritage restoration boutique inns, pioneering micro-equity projects for marginalized women and handicapped, together with rural medical and education outreach programs. With his advocacies and prominent stature in the region, he is considered as one of the pillars of the Himalayan Consensus. He is a founder of the Shambhala Studio. Author of over twenty books on the Asian region, his work covers a wide spectrum from economic development reform in China and Southeast Asia, to Tibetan new age travel series which includes: Searching for Shangri-La, Conversations with Sacred Mountains, Shamb-hala and New Age Sutra. He is a columnist and commentator for the South China Morning Post and Review Asia.He also directs documentary films about Tibet, designs architecture and interiors, raises huskies, ranked a karate black belt, yoga and meditation practitioner.