Is there really such a place as Shangri-La?

yes, it's in the north of Yunnan, which is close to Tibet.

Shangri-La is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province. It is the hinterland of "Shangri-La" tourist route. From Dali, it is 315 kilometers northbound along the Yunnan-Tibet Highway, and it can reach the central town of Zhongdian County, the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 659 kilometers away from Kunming, and it can be reached by plane in 5 minutes. Diqing, in Tibetan, means "a place of good fortune". Located at the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the northern end of the southern section of Hengduan Mountains, and in the hinterland of "Three Parallel Rivers", it forms a unique landscape integrating snow-capped mountains, canyons, grasslands, alpine lakes, virgin forests and ethnic customs, and is a multifunctional tourist scenic spot. There are many snow-capped mountains in the scenic area, such as Kagebo Peak, the highest peak in Yunnan Province. In Zhongdian County alone, there are 47 canyons with snow-capped mountains above 4, meters above sea level. The most famous ones are the Grand Canyon such as Tiger Leaping Gorge in Jinsha River and Lancang River Gorge. There are also vast alpine grassland pastures, vast virgin forests and dotted alpine lakes, which make Diqing's natural landscape magical, steep and beautiful.