Day 20 - Lugu Lake and the Mosuo Tribe

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Our home for the night was a nice little wooden guesthouse run by a family of Mosuo. Almost half of the people living around Lugu Lake are of the Mosuo ethnic group.

We woke up 5:45am to be greeted by a Mosuo lady who took us in pitch black to her row boat. Then out on to the still calm of Lugu Lake we were led to a small islet in the middle which we climbed to see the spectacular Yunnan sunrise. Back down again we sat round a fire talking to the Mosuo family. If you have time, do watch the video of the Mosuo boat lady singing. She had an absolutely amazing voice and the song matched the still calm of the lake perfectly.

Back at the guesthouse we had a light breakfast of buckwheat pancakes, noodles and fried rice, and then had a walk around our peninsula before setting off for Lijiang through the mountain roads.

Arriving at Lijiang at 4:00pm we hit the Ancient City. Lijiang definitely has a distinct charm, especially after sunset when the streets come to life with music, street foods, and vendors selling everything from Naxi fabrics to silver or jade jewelry.

That night we went to see a concert performed by the Dayan Naxi Ancient Music Academy, a troupe of very colourful musicians, many of whom were in their eighties.

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

DONGBA
Gotta love the Dongba...modern hieroglyph...of the Naxi...love it

[The Great China Roadtrip]

Naxi
Yes, the Naxi, Mosuo, Yi, and Tibetan people we met so far are so nice. Living in Shanghai gave me a distorted view of Chinese people. So glad I did this trip. Off to Dali now.

[duecechan]

well,in China,people in big cities such as Shanghai,Beijing,are likely to be cold and detached,and the people in small town or villeges (I mean rural places)are more likely to be warm open and friendly.your trip is fantastic! I wish I could have such a long trip.

[Home and Away]

Dave, you forgot to suggest to Dean to post the video on your new Music Forum...
it was quite beautiful especially with the soft beat of the oars against the side of the boat. Dean, please post the video on the Music Forum.

[The Great China Roadtrip]

Thanks
She has a beautiful voice. I will try to post on the music forum when I finish the trip. It is so rare that I get Wifi, I need to use the chances I have to update the blog.