Honest folk custom, quiet village with domestic houses, picturesque farmland, people row "pig trough" canoes because of how they look and go fishing on the lake. That is the Lugu Lake hidden in the mountains in the northwest of Yunnan Province, a strange and beautiful place, reports the overseas edition of People Daily on September 1.

When the "Daughters nation" hidden in deep mountains for many years uncovers its veil on its face, the Mosuo people start to face up to the commercial economic tide outside the mountains. Visitors come to the village to break down their past tranquility and the lake turns to be restless. Local villagers start to run family hotels and restaurants.

Following this, the water quality in the lake begins to turn worse. Water in some sections of the lake becomes turbid. There is a worsening tendency for the lake's ecology. The lake can no longer afford the disordered development.

Disorder: "killer" for the lake

Located in the border area between the Ninglang Yi Nationality Autonomous County of Lijiang in Yunnan Province and the Yuanyan County of Sichuan Province in Southwest China, the Lugu is the only one of the nine key protected plateau lakes in Yunnan, in which, the water quality is kept at Class I. Tourism here started in 1992. For a long time, the tourist industry has been in the state of spontaneous development. Up to now, there are 89 private-run family-style hotels with 1,689 guest rooms and 3,409 beds in the scenic area. To obtain good commercial places, the local villagers have built their houses by the side of the lake, or even filling the lake to build houses. The water in the lake has been polluted to different degrees because living wastewater is directly or indirectly discharged into the lake so that there are three special kinds of fish on the verge of extinction.

"Lugu Lake serves as both community and scenic area. And lake residents' production, life and their use of resources bring more difficulties to the environmental protection of the lake. With the development of the tourism industry, there come more pressures on the environmental protection. And there will be a threat to the Mosuo culture due to outside cultural impacts", Yu Lijun, director with the Lugu Lake Administrative Committee, told the reporter.

Relocation: decisive measures for the protection of the lake

On October 27, 2004, Yunnan held an on-the-spot work conference on the protection of the lake by the side of the lake with the theme of protecting the lake's natural environment and the national cultural resources and improving the sustainable development of economy, society, resources and environment in the lake area.

According to the conference, the "plan on the protection and realignment of the lake environment" was mapped out. The Lijiang government plans to complete "8 projects" in two years. "The Lige Village is the best one in the lake scenic area. However, now the lakeside is damaged due to the illegal occupation of land and building of houses by villagers", added Director Yu Lijun. All the residents in the village will be relocated, according to the relevant ordinance and scheme regarding the protection and management of the lake.

In April this year, the relocation started. "The new Lige Village is a demonstration one with national cultural ecology. We have suggested 10 standards for building the houses. The main principle lies on building a style of authentic Mosuo house architecture and village shape. We have confined their houses to be built below two stories with less than five rooms for a single unit. The green land for each relocated household is no less than 30 per cent with a 3-5 square-meter Class-3 fermenting tank built with brinks. Only treated sewage water can be discharged.

"Grandmother's room has an important status in the Mosuo dwelling, which is the living room for the hostess of a family. The style of construction is in tree fern style with outer walls made of authentic timber. And iron doors and windows are not allowed to use. The roof should be built with small green tiles", said Yu Lijun.

Upon the relocation, the Luoshui Village opposite the Lige across the lake is also planned, which will be built into a "Mosuo cultural sightseeing village". It is learned that some illegal buildings in the village along the lake will be dismantled for a 11-kilometer lakeside belt, the side of which, bordering the village, will be a walking road for tourism so as to let travelers enjoy the lake. Behind the village there will be a one-kilometer highway for travelers to enter the lake area.

Correctly dealing with the shift from "hot" to "cold"

Lakeside barbecue was once the busiest tourist spot in the lake area and also the biggest pollution source. In June 13 last year, all barbecue places for stalls were moved to a newly built barbecue city. Because of this, the lakeside suddenly turns calm.

For this change, "Big Wolf" living by the lake knows it well and he speaks highly of it.

A native of the Mosuo, "Big Wolf" opens a bar by the lake. He had a brisk business due to his legendary love story. "In the past there were full of barbecue stalls in front of my bar. My business boomed as visitors came here for fun and barbecue. Now the stalls are moved out and my business becomes dull. However, it doesn't matter, as it is the most important to preserve the lake. If the water quality is worsened, then there will be nothing", he said.

Now "Big Wolf" often goes to the lakeside to see if there happens anything damaging the lake. If there occurs any problem, he will tell the local administrative departments. "Lugu Lake is the homeland where the Mosuo people live. As one of the Mosuo people and one of the environment protection envoys, that is what I should do", he said. As a direct administer of the lake, Yu Lijun has a farther idea, that is, turning the lake tour area into a demonstration spot for the big Shangri La ecological tourism zone of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet, by making use of the harnessing opportunity. He believes that the lake tourism will have more charm through standardized management.

By People's Daily Online