Unicorns in Shang-ri la?

I think a lot of us have a certain image that comes to mind when we think of Shang-ri la. We have read in books, seen in movies and hear that it is a magical, paradise, peaceful, utopia.

I have been there a few times. And I will tell you, I think it IS magical! My first trip to Shang-ri la on the first day, I turned to my husband and said "I don't think I ever want to leave here!" He replied, "I know, me too!" We were back for another visit, just a few short months after that! We just can't stay away too long!

Today I was adding some new bangles onto Artfire and I added one with a unique design. And that bangle let me to a lot of reading, research and questions to my friends here in China. 

 This is the bangle that started a ton of questions and research! The image on the bangle is a Dragon. But, here in China, there isn't just A dragon! There are 4 main types of dragons, think of them like hybrids, turtle, fish, dog and phoenix. Dragons from different place do and mean different things, for example living in the rivers, deep in the lakes or in the sky. Also, different colored dragons have special meanings. 

I started to read up on some other types of dragons and their stories and I came across something that I had seen before, but I thought it was a Chinglish typo. Unicorns!

So, not only is Shang-ri la the Utopian, paradise, but it also has unicorns? Sort of...

This is the story that I am told here in China. A long, long time ago when people first started to travel in Tibet, they saw a single horned animal. Immediately they thought it was a unicorn. 

But, in actuality it is not a unicorn but, a  unicorn rhinoceros. I found this on wikipedia.... 

 Amazing idea isn't it?

From what I am they live mostly in Nepal. In the 1960's there were less than 20 of the unicorn rhino left in the world. Hunters and Poachers, much like elephants were after their tusk. But, I'm told the unicorn horns were used for medical purposes.

But, now in Nepal they have started Government funded programs to save and protect the unicorn rhinos. They have special wildlife reserves and now have over 200 healthy unicorn rhino living happily in Nepal. 

Hunting these amazing creatures is more than frowned upon. If you seen or caught hunting them in Nepal, minimum 15 years jail time. 

I have been reading up on one of the reserves in Nepal. I would love to go visit and see them in life! I couldn't imagine!