Lugu Lake
High Plateau Lake On The Yunnan Sichuan Border And Homeland Of The Mosuo People · Ninglang, Yunnan
A deep blue alpine lake at about 2,690 metres on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan, ringed by forested mountains and scattered with small islands, and the homeland of the Mosuo, one of the few societies in the world organised around the female line. In traditional Mosuo families, property and names pass through mothers, the grandmother heads the household, and couples may live apart in a custom known as walking marriage, in which a man visits his partner at night and returns to his mother's home by day. The lake itself is one of the clearest in China, reaching more than ninety metres deep. Visitors are paddled across it in long wooden pig-trough canoes by Mosuo boatmen and women, visit the islands and the Lige peninsula, and watch bonfire dances in the evenings, when villagers and guests link arms in circles. Above the eastern shore rises Gemu, the Goddess Mountain, worshipped as the lake's guardian and reached by cableway, and on the Sichuan side the reed marshes of the Grass Sea are crossed by the wooden Walking Marriage Bridge. Circling the lake by bike or car reveals quiet villages, prayer flags and Tibetan Buddhist temples such as Zhamei Monastery in nearby Yongning. Growing tourism has changed the villages, but mornings on the water remain magical.
Lige Peninsula, Lugu Lake, Ninglang Yi Autonomous County, Lijiang, Ninglang, Yunnan, China
Lake area open at all hours; ticket checks and sales about 8:00-18:00 (19:00 in peak season). Real-name e-tickets only since January 1, 2026.