Folk culture has been created by peoples all aroundthe world in harmony with their group temperamentin different ecological，cultural，and environmentalcircumstances.It has accumulated，been passed on，andevolved through history to become different kinds of civilizations.
Folk culture not only created the cultural psychologiesof different nations，but also their unique social andcultural background.China was an agricultural society fora very long time，so the greatest cultural influence on theChinese people was agricultural folk culture，includingholiday activities，marriage customs and folk art.
Lugu Lake，200 kilometers from the city center ofLijiang，Yunnan，resembles a sparkling jewel nestledin the high plateau among the many mountainsof western Yunnan.Living among the unsurpassedbeauty of the lake and mountains live the Mosuo people，one of the few peoples in the world still living in a matriarchalsociety.Their unique“azhu”marriage ceremonyand natural and primitive folk customs have given thisancient land an air of mystery and romance，and for thisreason it is known as the“exotic oriental land of daughters.”
An ancient local legend explains the origin of LuguLake as follows.Gemu，the female spirit，was a wise and beautiful young woman who was not only the girlfriendof many local male mountain spirits，but of distant malemountain spirits as well.One time when a distant malemountain spirit came to visit her she was having a rendezvouswith a local male mountain spirit.He hurriedlyturned the horse around，causing it to neigh three times.
When she heard the sound of the horse she immediatelychased after the visiting mountain spirit，but he was alreadyfar away and all she could see was a large hoofprint at the bottom of the mountain.By the time shereached the hoof print，the sun was coming up and shestood by the hoof print sobbing uncontrollably until hertears filled the hoof print，forming the present Lugu Lake.
When the departing mountain spirit heard the sound ofher sobbing he turned around to look and lovingly threwsome pearls and flowers into the lake.The pearls becamesmall islands in the lake and the flowers floated to theshore and grew into a fragrant patch of flowers，includingazaleas，which bloom year after year.
In actuality，Lugu Lake was formed by a fault in theearth.It has an area of 50 square kilometers and averagesabout 45 meters in depth.The lake is shaped like a horsehoof，long north-south and short east-west in the shape ofa gourd.The scenery around the lake changes constantlyduring the day as the surrounding mountains fade inand out of view.The undulating shoreline creates many beaches，some large，some small，on the long shore ofthe lake，making it a perfect spot for tourists to relax andplay.
