page_title: Mosuo
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Mosuo / Intercultural exchanges / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographer Seihon Cho, Lake Lugu
context_page_description: The Mosuo, often called the Na among themselves, are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet. Consisting of a population of approximately 40,000, many of them live in the Yongning region, around Lugu Lake, in Labai, in Muli, and in Yanyuan, located high in the Himalayas.
  Although the Mosuo are culturally distinct from the Nakhi, the Chinese government places them as members of the Nakhi minority. The Nakhi are about 320,000 people spread throughout different provinces in China. Their culture has been documented by indigenous scholars Lamu Gatusa, Latami Dashi, Yang Lifen and He Mei.
context_section_description: Mosuo living near Lugu Lake inhabit an aesthetically pleasing region. Photographers, television crews, writers, and artists are drawn to their homes. This increased attention has also brought tourists. Tourism is primarily domestic and typically occurs as a part of organized tour groups to view a culture that seems "exotic". Tourism has influenced kinship and parenting practices, with Mosuo residing in areas where tourism is prevalent being less likely to adhere to strict matrilineal norms.
caption: On Lake Lugu
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