Tea Horse Road - Lugu Lake by Aaron 泸沽湖

 Lugu Lake

~Aaron

Tea Horse Road

Tea Horse Road Day 5：

Lijiang Ancient Town, Lugu Lake

Early morning of Lugu Lake

right after sunrise

Playing rock tossing at early morning of Lugu Lake

The Lugu Lake

     The Lugu Lake 泸沽湖 was very awesome. It across the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Our boat ride on the lake was a fun trip. We also visited the local Mosuo village 摩梭族, which is known for their "Kingdom of Women" 女儿国 and "Walking Marriages" 走婚族.

Mont Goddess Gammo 格姆女神山

View Mont Goddess Gammo

from a boat

View Mont Goddess Gammo

from lake shore

     The Lugu Lake is called "Mother Lake" by the local Mosuo people. Its water is very blue and clean. I even tasted some water on the ride across the lake! The mountain surrounding the lake looks like a sleeping goddess. The local people worship this sacred mountain as Goddess Gammo 格姆女神山. The color of the lake changes from blue in the middle to greenish by the edge. The flowers growing in the lake beside the shore are supposed to be scented azaleas (当地人称此花为水性杨花). Some of the white flowers have roots attached, others have fallen. The flowers have blossom every year.

The scented azaleas 水性杨花

The scented azaleas 水性杨花

The island on Lugu lake

where Rock and his Mosuo wife

used to live

The house in Lijiang
where Rock used to live
and research

     James Hilton, author of the Lost Horizon, wrote his Shangri-la story based on botanist Joseph F. Rock's journal (for more details, see my Shangri-la post). James Hilton didn't come to Shangri-la at all. Do you know who is Rock 洛克? Rock lived in Lijiang since 1920 when he left the U.S. Rock studied the local plants and collected samples. In his spare time, he stopped to rest on an island inside the Lugu Lake. He married a Mosuo girl and had a baby boy. After a few decades of studying in Lijiang, Rock went back to Hawaii. He published his journal about Shangri-la, including life at Lugu Lake. His works covered the culture, language, and religion.

Joseph F. Rock, a botanist,
who brought Shangri-La to the outside world

The lake in a heart shape

Snap on the crocodile island

Picture with Mosuo boy

Picture with Mosuo girl

     The Mosuo people are the people native to Lugu  Lake. We visited a house inside the Mosuo village. They told us about how their life works. The boys leave the house and start farming at the age of 13. Girls start learning to sew many things. If 2 people like each other, the boy will climb the girl’s house to get to her room and sleep. Before dawn, the boy must leave to avoid getting caught. The Mosuo girls are in charge of the family. The men all have to listen to her.

View Lugu Lake and Mosuo village from our hotel

     The Lugu Lake contains many fabulous things to do. The boat ride offered a pretty view of the lake. I learned a lot of facts about the life of the Mosuo people. This lake is very wonderful.

A beautiful valley

The lake view

A boat on the lake