Where Daughters Are Preferred

October 26, 2015 2:24 AM

Mosuo, Kingdom of Daughters Not All Chinese Want Sons
posted by Yellow (3 comments total)

I found that the pictures in the article really don't do the place justice. The lake is clear and a bright, rich blue. There is an island with a temple you can take a boat to. The wilderness there is really quite beautiful. I'm glad to hear they're getting an airport. Also, the locals told us at the time that they no longer live their matrilineal traditions. They still celebrate it and use the cultural novelty to attract tourists, but the traditional way of life had already changed a lot by the time I got there. That said, you could still find many locals wandering around in traditional clothing.

A personal take on the area:

I went here in Summer 2009, as part of a small subset of the Fudan University hiking club. It was a strange sort of place, at the time. A destination for Chinese tourists but not many international ones. We stayed at what seemed to be a half-built resort - it felt like they were expecting many tourists, but in fact we seemed to be the only ones. There were still piles of sawdust everywhere, and livestock wandering about. I was surprised to find that the shores of the lake were not at all developed. It was simply scattered with a few traditional fishing boats. The place was fascinating, and we were able to rent bikes and ride to a local village. The entire wider area was undeveloped - herds of goats and horses were running wild as we rode along. There were some people selling bottled water from small huts, but at one point we had to stop and ask some local farmers for water. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and offered to share their food with us, and cook for us if we went to get groceries. Don't try the aged pig fat, that way lies stomach pain.
posted by Acaecia at 3:51 AM on October 26, 2015 [7 favorites]

Acacia, That is amazing that you were able to visit. I agree that the pictures are not enough! For the most part, modern Chinese families from the cities (like Hong Kong, where I am from) promote feminism, girl power, are run by the moms. My mother always told me that getting married isn't necessary and it isn't necessary if I wanted children. It's nice to show a people that are something other than the male-fever type of Chinese mentality. Thanks for sharing!
posted by Yellow at 5:14 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

Leaving Mother Lake is a great memoir about this region and culture. So fascinating!
posted by ananci at 6:04 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]