Lugu Lake

The Lugu Lake is set in a dense forest between the Ninglang Yi Autonomous County of Yunnan Province and Yanyuan County of Sichuan Province and 300 kilometres from Dayan Town of Liliang.

The environment around the lake is well preserved where the air is fresh, the water pollution-free, and the scenery incredibly delightful. The shore of the lake is home to the Musuo people, a branch of the ethnic Naxi group who retain the vestiges of a matriarchal society. The wedding custom of the Musuo people is noted for its exotic ceremonies.

The quiet and limpid Luguhu Lake, the second deepest in Yunnan, lies farther north in the prefecture. Around the 48.45-square-kilometers body of water are more than 20 villages, inhabited by the Mosuo people, a branch of the Naxis, who live in log cabins and a matriarchal tribe where property and children belong to the women who run the market and control the purse strings.They refer to their canoes as " mangers for raising pigs " . Legend has it that when the flood came their ancestors, busy feeding the pigs, leaped into the manger and escaped by an ark of their own.

Lugu Lake is 5.2 kilometers wide from east to westwith an average depth of 40 metres. With trough-shaped canoes, crystal- clear waters confined by verdant mountains, the lake has three islands in the middle which are known as the " Fabled Abode of Immortals ". On the lake - side, there are peninsulas, cape, smooth beaches and the old - fashioned Mosuo log cabins. The matriarchal customs of Mosuo people and their friendliness are indeed enchanting.

Moso people, a branch of the Nakhis, who live in log cabins and a matriarchal tribe where property and children belong to the women who run the market and control the purse strings.They refer to their canoes as " mangers for raising pigs ". Legend has it that when the flood came their ancestors, busy feeding the pigs, leaped into the manger and escaped by an ark of their own.

There used to be many mythical stories relating to the matriarchal system in many other parts of the world , but not any more now, except here on the heavenly lakeside of the crystalline Lugu Lake...