Live Your Best Lives
Many years ago, I read the book "Out of the Kingdom of Daughters" by Yang Erche Namu (a Mosuo from Lugu Lake). This was my first introduction to Lugu Lake, the Mosuo people, and the stunning natural scenery and mysterious ethnic customs described in her book. I longed to visit this magical place one day. This trip to Yunnan finally fulfilled that dream.
After much anticipation, our driver, M, arrived half an hour late. He is a Lugu Lake local, an ethnic Yi, in his late 40s, and a resident of Lijiang. When we first met, I was quite critical of him because he was late, but as we continued to travel together and interact with each other, my initial impression changed and I felt he was a nice person.
The picture shows the journey from Dali to Lugu Lake Scenic Area, a distance of over 310 kilometers. It crosses the Jinsha River, passes Yongsheng County, and enters Ninglang Yi Autonomous County. The entire journey is basically on the highway and takes a little over 4 hours.
Passing through the downtown area of Dali City, there were too many traffic lights and it was impossible to drive. It took more than 40 minutes to get on the highway. Although driver M arrived late, he drove extremely fast, making up considerable time. Upon closer inspection, the driver seemed to pay little attention to speed limit signs, not even slowing down in tunnels, reaching speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour. While I enjoy driving fast myself, I was still a little concerned about being in a car driven by a stranger so recklessly. I simply didn't interrupt and carefully observed the traffic from the passenger seat. There are not many vehicles on the road, and the car is mostly driving in the mountainous area. Under the blue sky and white clouds, it passes through the red soil of Yunnan, and the scenery along the way is picturesque.
Wow! Suddenly, a high gorge and a flat lake appeared before my eyes. It was as smooth as a mirror and had a vibrant hue, appearing green yet not green, blue yet not blue. It looked like a piece of silk covering the valley, or like a giant piece of stained glass lying on the ground. The viewer was ecstatic and couldn't take their eyes off. The driver explained that this was the Jinsha River and that there was an observation deck built along the road.
Going up to the viewing platform, you will see the Taoyuan Jinsha River Bridge standing on the road. The bridge is located in a typical "U"-shaped river valley, within which is the reservoir area of the Ludila Hydropower Station.
The Jinsha River Bridge and the scenery of the hydropower station reservoir are perfectly integrated. The steepness of the high gorge, the beauty of the lake and the majesty of the bridge are breathtaking.
The Taoyuan Jinsha River Bridge, located in Yongsheng County, Yunnan Province, lies across the emerald-colored river like a giant dragon, majestic and imposing.
The bridge has a main span of 636 meters and is a twin-tower, twin-cable bridge. It is one of the key projects on the Dali-Yongsheng Expressway.
The road stretches to the sky, and you can walk half of it each way: the left leads to Lijiang, and the right to Panzhihua. The cliffs in front of the tunnel are decorated with many ethnic patterns, which is very interesting.
The cliffs in front of the tunnel are decorated with many ethnic patterns, which is very interesting.
Qina Service Area: Although located in a remote mountainous area, the service areas along the Dayong Expressway are beautifully built.
Yongsheng County, located in the central part of Lijiang City, was a transportation fortress on the Southern Ancient Silk Road and a key post station on the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. It served as a vital "bridgehead" connecting the inland with the southwest. It is also a traditional plateau agricultural county, known as the "granary of western Yunnan" and "a land of fish and rice."
Stone reliefs, ethnic features.
The Paomaping Service Area, with its flying eaves and colorful paintings, is rich in local ethnic characteristics. The ultraviolet rays on the plateau are very strong and you may get sunburned if you are not careful. However, the clouds on the plateau are exceptionally beautiful, rolling freely across the sky.
Although we were driving on the highway, the saying "the scenery is on the road" seemed irrefutable, and the fact that I couldn't help but press the shutter button out of the car window from time to time was proof of this.
Get off the highway at Ninglang North Toll Station. Ninglang Yi Autonomous County is under the jurisdiction of Lijiang City. Lugu Lake in Yunnan Province is located in Ninglang County.
Exit the highway and enter the S307 Provincial Road. There are red soil and green trees on both sides. The mountain road is winding and climbing.
A quick look at my phone shows that the altitude is already 3030 meters.
At 1:26 PM, we arrived at the entrance to the Lugu Lake Scenic Area. Cars were lining up to enter. It seemed like all the passengers needed to get off. But our car drove directly into a lane without a queue. The driver spoke to the guard, checked our IDs, and was allowed to pass. Lugu Lake is located between Ninglang County, Yunnan Province, and Yanyuan County, Sichuan Province. The lake's surface is approximately 2,690 meters above sea level and covers an area of approximately 48.45 square kilometers. The Mosuo, Yi, and Pumi peoples primarily inhabit the area surrounding the lake, while seven other ethnic groups, including the Mongolian, live along its shores. Renowned for its stunning natural scenery and the unique and mysterious Mosuo culture, Lugu Lake is known as "the abode of the gods, the source of Shangri-La, and the home of matriarchal clans."
The first thing I saw while driving was Lugu Lake. It was so beautiful!
The driver saw how fascinated we were and stopped by the roadside to fulfill our wish.
After entering the Lugu Lake Scenic Area, we drove for about ten or twenty minutes to a village (later we learned it was called Sanjia Village), where we went into the most authentic stone pot fish restaurant (the driver said there were only two authentic ones here).
Local specialties: steam stone pot fish and steam stone pot chicken.
The special delicacies are not to be missed, not to mention that you are already starving, so you must feast on them.
The fish is tender and plump, and the fish soup is milky white and tasty. You can add various hot pot dishes like eating hot pot. I ordered a plate of yak beef, which was a bit extra and I couldn't chew it.
After lunch, it was almost 3 p.m., so we went to ride Lugu Lake's famous pig trough boat. There are actually many places along the lake, and the prices vary. There's a boat just a few dozen steps away in Sanjia Village, where our restaurant is located. Of course, we only learned about this later. We were new here and couldn't tell east from west, south from north, so we just let the driver take his orders.
This place is called Wangjiawan Village, and the boat rides are clearly marked with prices.
In order to have a quiet and casual time, I chartered a boat.
Sitting on the pig trough boat and cruising on the lake, the breeze blows on your face, and the boat sways slightly, as if you are in a fairyland, with blue sky and white clouds, green water and green mountains, and the clouds in the sky are also reflected on the lake. The two men rowing the boat are two brothers, local Mosuo people, probably from Wangjiawan Village. The younger brother rowing the boat has a simple and honest appearance, always smiling, and is more talkative than his older brother.
The ladies had been looking forward to watching Watery Yanghua for a long time. As soon as they got on the boat, they stared intently, held their breath, and held their mobile phones in preparation.
Ah, I see it! The long branches sway with the waves, the white petals and yellow stamens are fresh and unworldly, but it’s not the season yet, so the flowers are not big.
The lakeshore is covered with grass (reeds?), alternating between yellow and green. This area is called the Grass Sea, which is actually a wetland. Its large size and scale make it a spectacular and beautiful sight, becoming a landmark of Lugu Lake. The famous Mosuo Marriage Bridge is located within this vast Grass Sea on the lakeside in Sichuan. 
Relax your mind and let yourself go, escape from the world, and forget your worries. What a spiritual haven, what an intoxicating paradise. 
The little white dots on the water surface are all water lilies.
The boatman at the helm is the elder of the two brothers. He is taciturn and not as talkative as his younger brother, but he is kind and honest.
It can be seen that the local people lead a very comfortable and leisurely life. After work, they also play a game of poker. A few villagers were resting in the fields, breathing in the fragrance of the earth and fiddling with their smartphones, looking quite content.
This side of Sichuan Province belongs to Yanyuan County, Liangshan Prefecture. Although it belongs to a different administrative division, it is still the home of the Mosuo people.
The Amy Mosuo people have colorfully painted wooden houses, which are filled with a strong ethnic style. The Walking Marriage Bridge is located in Yanyuan County, Sichuan Province, in the Caohai area in the southeastern waters of Lugu Lake. It is the only bridge on Lugu Lake and a well-known landscape of Lugu Lake. 
Due to years of silt accumulation, the water level under the bridge has become shallow, and dense reeds have grown over a large area. From a distance, it looks like a sea of grass, hence the local name "Grass Sea." It is said that this sea of grass is about 7,000 meters long, 800 meters wide on average, and covers an area of over 9,000 mu.
The scenery around the Walking Marriage Bridge is unique, with undulating mountains, vast expanses of yellow and green grass, and the lake reflecting the mountains and the white clouds in the sky, as if entering a fairyland painting.
Sharpen your weapons before the battle, every gesture and every move can be imitated.
Left the Marriage Bridge at 17:30 and return to the hotel by the same route.
We passed a viewing platform and the driver stopped to let us take in the view and take photos. The light was a bit backlit at the moment, but the photos of the lake sparkling with a unique charm.
Mobile phone photos show that this place is not far from the Pumi Village (the Pumi people live on the shores of Lugu Lake). The road around the lake is full of scenery, but it is not easy for outsiders to find a place to park.
Lugu Lake has a total of 5 islands, 4 peninsulas, 1 long island, 14 bays, and nearly 20 natural villages on both the Sichuan and Yunnan sides. If you come to Lugu Lake, you must choose to tour the lake.
The morning tour will be the afternoon tour route around the lake, starting from Sanjia Village, stopping at Wangjiawan for a boat ride, and ending at the Marriage Bridge. Then, you will return to Shanli Hotel (the little red dot) by the same route.
We stopped and walked along the way, taking in the stunning scenery of the lake and mountains. We arrived at our pre-booked Shanli Hotel around 6 PM. It's actually a B&B, located on the hillside behind Daluoshui Village, a distance away. This makes the area very quiet.
The hotel enjoys a prime location, perched halfway up the mountain. Its elevated position affords unobstructed views of Lugu Lake.
As soon as I entered the room and saw the scenery outside the window, I immediately fell in love with this hotel. I am glad that my predictions were correct. After Anyue Linjianyin Hotel in Dali, I have found another hotel that I love and satisfy me.
Excerpt from a guest's review: "This is the best homestay I've stayed in in Yunnan. It has smart voice control, exquisite furniture, latex pillows, a comfortable mattress, and a smart toilet. Most of the small appliances are Xiaomi, and small details like sockets and shower heads are of very good quality." In addition, there are electric curtains and a projector.
It was almost 6 p.m., the best time of day, and the scenery outside the window was incredibly beautiful, like an oil painting.
I had traveled around Erhai Lake two days before and I already felt that the scenery was picturesque and magnificent. However, after seeing Lugu Lake today, I felt that it was incomparable and even better. (This is just my opinion)
src="https://dimg04.c-ctrip.com/images/1mf1j12000bzrmrrwE135_R_800_10000_Q90.jpg?proc=autoorient" /> The densely populated area ahead is Daluoshui Village. It doesn't look too far away, but it takes at least 20 minutes to walk there.
Zooming in, Daluoshui Village is a corner close to the lakeshore.
The hotel's only drawback is that it's a bit far from the village center, making it inconvenient to eat. (If you're driving, this isn't a problem.) Fortunately, we didn't eat until after 2 p.m., as we had to go to Daluoshui Village for the bonfire party at 7 p.m. Besides, after a long day of running, we wanted to rest a bit and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Lugu Lake from our room for a while longer. We skipped dinner, as we weren't starving anyway, so we just ate what we had in our room.
There is a terrace downstairs in the hotel where you can enjoy the view and there are also tables and chairs for tea.
The hotel owner, Xiaosha, a Tujia ethnic group in his forties, was very capable and enthusiastic. He drove us to Daluoshui Village. The village is quite large, with a long main street. There were many tourists and a bit of a traffic jam.
The bonfire party was supposed to start at 7:30 pm, but by 8 pm, nothing was happening. However, the performers in the theater (presumably local villagers) had already started dancing. Dressed in brightly colored folk costumes, they swayed to the music, slowly moving in a large circle. It looked okay at first, but once the party started, I couldn't sit still because I was constantly watching the same movements. The bonfire is lit.
The bonfire is lit.
I didn’t stick around until the end of the party. Like many other audiences, I left early.
The main street of Daluoshui Village. I felt a little regretful afterwards. I should have gone to the lakeside to enjoy the scenery after entering the village, then walked along the main street of the village, and finally watched the bonfire party.
Daluoshui Village is a traditional Mosuo village that was developed relatively early. It is one of the most scenic spots on the shores of Lugu Lake, with views of the Goddess Gemu Mountain. There are pig trough boats on the lakeside, which take you to two small islands. You can rent bicycles or ride horses around the lake. Some new houses have been built in the village. Although taller, they are still made entirely of wood. These wooden houses, unique to the Mosuo people, are warm in winter and cool in summer, making them great for photographing.
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