The Mysterious Lugu Lake | Study In China

Lugu Lake (泸沽湖), 258 kilometers away from Xichang city, is located in the Lugu county, southwest China's Sichuan province. The middle of the lake forms the border between the Ninglang County of Yunnan Province and the Yanyuan County of Sichuan province. Known as "the pearl of the plateau", it is famous for the beautiful scenery and attractive culture of matrilineal society.

The lake's shores are inhabited by many minority ethnic groups, such as the Mosuo, Norzu, Yi, Pumi and Tibetan. The most numerous of these are the Mosuo people, said to be a sub clan of the Naxi people (as per Chinese records of Minorities in China) with ancient family structure considered as "a live fossil for researching the marital development history of Human beings" and "the last quaint Realm of Matriarchy." It is considered as the home of the Moso Tribe.

Lugu Lake is called the "mother lake" by the Mosuo people. The lake is also well known in Chinese travel pamphlets as the region of “Amazons,” “The Kingdom of Women” and “Home of the Matriarchal Tribe”, this last name highlighting the dominant role of the Mosuo women in their society.[3] The marriage rites of the Mosuo people are known as “azhu marriage” ceremony and this unique aspect of their social culture has given the title “exotic land of daughters” to the area. It is also known as "A Quaint Realm of Matriarchy." The matriarchal and matrilineal society of the Mosuos is also termed the “Women’s World.”

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