Watch the documentary here on Vice.
China's one-child policy led to millions of female infanticides—except in a lush valley known as the "Land Where Women Rule."
Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Lugu Lake is home to China's Mosuo matriarchy. The region's 40,000 denizens have come up with a unique own family structure that puts women in charge. The Mosuo's "walking marriages"—in which women can have as many boyfriends as they want throughout their lifetime—replace traditional monogamy and inheritance passes from mother to daughter.
"Lugu Lake in the foothills of the Himalayas is home to China’s 40,000-people-strong Mosuo tribe, one of the world’s last matriarchies.
Living more or less isolated for centuries, the Mosuo tribe have developed their own unique family structure in which there is no traditional father role and inheritance is matrilineal, passed from mother to the oldest daughter, with grandmothers being the most important figure in the household.
In Mosuo culture, only the women of childbearing age have their own rooms, whilst men are at the mercy of either staying with their girlfriends or sleeping on the hay with the animals.
Instead of traditional marriages, the Mosuo have “walking marriages,” where each partner continues living with his or her respective family. The man visits his walking marriage wife at night and then returns to his own family in the morning to take care of his sisters’ children.”