Lugu Lake

As recent as the early 1990s, you would have to take a 7-day hike from the closest town to get there. Now there is a road over four big mountains from Lijiang to Lugu Lake. The scenery along the way is spectacular, as is Lugu Lake. But I did not go there for the scenery; I went there for the local inhabitants. They are a Chinese minority known as the Mosuo people. They have been so isolated for so long that their culture is entirely different. It is one thing to read about it but to talk with someone face-to-face from such a different culture was exhilarating and fascinating for me.

The Mosuo people live in a matriarchal society and practice "mobile" marriage. The Chinese word for it is literally "running" but the meaning is closer to "mobile". The oldest female is the head of the household. The easiest way to explain it is to use my local guide's family as an example. She was a young lady in her twenties. She told me there were seventeen in her family. She had three mothers. I questioned her carefully and it turned out it was her mother and her mother's two sisters; but she called all three of them "mothers". The head of the household is her mother's mother. Her mother's three brothers also lived in the same compound. Six siblings (some are probably cousins) and three niece and nephews also lived in the same household.

Question: Where are the husbands and fathers? Answer: There are none. Question: Where do the children come from? Answer: I am glad you asked. The Mosuo people do not get married. Men and women pair up as they desire. The relationship may be permanent and it may be quite transient. The key is a male will stay with his female companion at her house overnight and return to his mother's house the next morning. The impression I have is that most of them do not know who their fathers are and do not care. The Mosuo people may just represent the ultimate form of woman's liberation.

I learned about them two years ago and decided to visit them before they changed their way of life. It is my opinion that their unique lifestyle will disappear sooner than we would like. It is inevitable. They are watching satellite TVs, use mobile phones that are more advanced than my wife's ( I don't have a cell phone!), and the tourists are coming. By the way, as far as I can tell most if not all the dreamy single males who go there looking for romance usually come home very disappointed. Then, maybe it was because I am a happily married man.

Jinsha River to Lugu Lake

Lugu Lake

Mosou Guide at Jinsha River

Road to Lugu Lake