Lugu Lake, Heaven on Earth

Rock came to Yunnan in 1922. He spent 27 years in Yunnan, and for over 20 years he lived on an island in Lugu Lake. 

Rock had deep emotion of this land which is surrounded by water. When he was dying, he told his best friend (in 1926) that, he preferred to die among the flowers on Lugu Island, instead of dying in the hospital in Hawaii.

Today I follow the footsteps of Rock to this incredible lake. There are 5 islands, 3 peninsulas, 1 seawall attached island. They are of different shapes with thousands of green trees. They look like green boats floating on the lake.

I was sitting beside the lake quietly. Before I came here, I am a city man with too many upset things hunting in my mind.

I couldn’t find a proper word to describe what I saw. Heaven is the only word I can say.

Lugu Lake, the Paradise

“This is most beautiful water ever. I can’t imagine any more fascinating view than this.” Rock once wrote in his journal, “this is the heaven on earth which God lives here.” This is the Lugu Lake which Rock gave such high accomplishment. Lugu Lake is about 50 square kilometers large. Its sea level is nearly 2690m. The local residents of Lugu Lake are mainly Mosuo people. 

Few people heard of Rock, unless you are a big fan of tourism. Joseph F. Rock, the botanist, explorer, photographer and ethnographer, came to China in 1920s and wrote a book named Shangri-La. He was in deep love the customs and natural view of south China. 

Mosuo people treat Lugu Lake as their mother lake. Lugu Lake is rounded by mountains. There are three months of snow cover. The average depth of the lake is 45meters and the deepest place reaches 93meters. The transparency reaches 11meters. It is the deepest freshwater lake in China and the plateau lake of highest elevation in Yunnan province. The lake is surrounded by green mountains. The local people told me that the deepest place of Lugu Lake is 93m. Lugu lake is one of the deepest freshwater lake in China.

Now I follow the footsteps of Rock and come to visit this heaven-like place.