The first helicopter airport for transporting tourists to and from the Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of Deqen, popularly known as Shangri-La, will soon be built, a local government official announced in Kunming on Thursday.

The heliport is about 13 kilometers from the county seat of Deqen in southwest China's Yunnan Province and its construction will cost 37.5 million yuan (US$4.5 million), said Guo Shilin, an official of the prefecture's merchant bureau.

Deqen is situated at heart of the protected area of the "Three Parallel Rivers", referring to the Nujiang, Lancang-Mekong and Jinsha of Yangtze rivers flowing parallel in the region. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002.

The prefecture became famous at home and abroad because it is endowed with snow-topped mountains, vast plateau meadows, traditional folk arts and everything described in the novel of "Lost Horizon" written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. In the book, Shangri-La is a mystical and harmonious place.

Construction of the heliport is sure to promote tourism and economic development in the region, Guo said.

(China Daily May 24, 2004)