WHITE PARADISE

a sequel to "In Search of Shangri-La".

In his personal sojourn to seek for perfection and nature's pristine and untouched beauty - a journey akin to James Hilton's quest for Shangri-La, the lost paradise on earth, Richard Wong's journey has now taken him to the surreal world of steep mountains and deep valleys with its heart-stopping visage of sheer vertical cliffs and deep plunging valleys and cascading waterfalls found only in this remote southwestern corner of China. In the province of Sichuan - China's largest province bordering the province of Yunnan to the south and Tibet to the west, near the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the region known as China's Hidden Heart and which is home to many of China's ethnic minorities.

From April to June 1998, Richard Wong had started his sojourn from Chengdu, home of the great Tang poet Du Fu (712-770) and the capital of Sichuan Province. From there, he slowly made his way through the quaint remote villages situated at the foothills of the Qionglai Mount Range on the Alba Plateau. Using the local means of transport, the old and rickety trucks salvaged from old army trucks left behind by the Allied forces during WWII when Kunming was the most important transit stage of the old China - Burma Road, he traversed along the long and winding mountain roads towards Yunnan Province in South West China passing through the old Southern Silk Road, to see for himself the "Lost Paradise" before it is "discovered" and spoilt by the hordes of tourist that would soon swamp this remote corner of the world.

Broke and feeling a little homesick by now, Richard Wong had to break journey but he vowed to return to continue his personal quest for his Shangri-La.

Captivated and enchanted by what he saw, Richard Wong soon felt restless and was eager to continue his sojourn. So in October 1998, he flew to Chengdu once again, to take the high road - but this time northwards for he had set his eyes on Kunlun Mountain. (Kunlun Range) venerated throughout China as the birthplace of China's two great rivers, the Yellow River to the north and the mighty Yangtze River to the south.

Then from Lhasa in Xizang (Tibet), he traversed westwards towards the Karakorum Shan in South West Xinjian Autonomous Region and hence to his destination of Qogir Shan (Mount Qogir). There, he trekked the land of jagged mountain peaks and spare mountain hamlets nestled in between deep clear lakes which turned into shimmering glaciers of sheer white ice with all shades of white in winter from zinc white to grey white - which provides a sharp contrast to clear blue skies and the changing golden hues of the leaves of autumn. He continued his journey to Nepal where he made his last stop at the base camp of Mount Everest.

Entranced and captivated by what he saw, Richard Wong has tried to transpose onto canvas, the vivid and austere of what he calls "White Paradise" - a mindscape so alien to the lush tropical colours of his native land of Malaysia. Here, as far as the eyes could see were the far pavilions of sheer gleaming glacial tops glistening in the sun in the distant mountains. All these, the eyes of Richard Wong have seen - these visages of magic that he calls his "White Paradise" - not far from his paradise on earth, his Shangri-La.

C. K. Tan

a collector,

Calgary, Alberta.