The organizing committee for the upcoming Mojiang International Twins Festival — held May 1-2 — were pleased to introduce the double faces of their current advertising campaign. During the weekend press conference, the official promotional song for the two-day event was also unveiled, as local media inquired about preparations for the upcoming 'twin-undation'.

Held at the Telecom International Hotel , the conference room was big enough for more than 100 invited guests. Attendees mostly consisted of journalists and photographers from local newspapers and television stations. We were greeted by two friendly looking pairs of twins in traditional Hani clothing at the entrance and, after many smiles and greetings, one young lady handed us a hefty bag promotional literature before guiding us into the room. We were the first guests to arrive, choosing fourth row seats just behind those reserved for committee members, sponsors and other honored guests.

Scheduled for 2pm, the press conference started with a slight 30-minute delay. The wait provided us with enough time to work our way through the abundance of informational material found in our goody-bag. We learned that Mojiang is an autonomous county in the prefecture of Pu'er . Nestled among subtropical mountains somewhat near the Vietnamese border, it is known for producing high-quality tea products and for its year-round warm weather. Home to the Hani minority, Mojiang isn't commonly referred to as a tourism hotspot, except for once a year.

It isn't the local architecture or traditional dances that make it special. It is the region's exceptionally high percentage of twin births. Normally the chance of conceiving identical twins is slim — only about three out of 1,000. But with more then 1,500 identical twins and triplets, such births in Mojiang come around 25 percent more frequently then in the rest of the world. No one knows why this happens, and contributing factors such as inherited genes, the climate, and local well water have all been put forward as explanations.

The conference room filled up and conversations came to close as the press conference got underway. It began with an introduction of the winning twins from last years televised talent show, complete with a short display of the pair's winning ballet skills. Next, the official song for this year's festival was unveiled, sung live by a pair of twins from Mojiang. It immediately seemed to catch on, as some members of the committee, as well as a few journalists, started to hum along with the refrain.

Mojiang's yearly twin festival will include a lot of singing and dancing, plus celebrations of local Hani culture and everything twin-related in general. Identical twins from all over the world are invited to the festival to participate in these activities, which culminate in a huge talent show. It isn't always what most would consider a 'normal' talent, such as a dueling piano performance or singing, that takes first prize. A few years ago, a pair of Russian twins won the talent show for dancing provocatively while dressed in matching skintight catsuits.

Wudi Village (五地村) lies in the mountains of southeastern Chuxiong Prefecture (楚雄州), right in the center of Yunnan province. To get there requires taking a bus first to Chuxiong, another to Shuangbai (双柏), 60 kilometers south, then yet another one to Fabiao Township (法脿乡), 50 kilometers further southeast. Fabiao is pleasantly sited amidst rolling hills, with a good vantage point for sunrises. It's a Han town, as are the villages immediately south, towards the reservoir. From this body of water, a trail bends west to a long valley flanked by high hills, their slopes sprinkled with medium-sized villages sitting above terraced fields.

Wudi is among them, about an hour's walk from the junction at the reservoir. Like the other settlements in this part of Shuangbai County, its inhabitants are members of the Yi nationality — the largest ethnic minority in Yunnan — comprising five major dialect groups and thirty-odd separate sub-groups. Aside from hearing the language — a Tibeto-Burman tongue quite different from Chinese in both structure and sound — not much exists in the village to mark Wudi as Yi-inhabited. Unlike many other sub-groups, Wudi's Yi do not dress in traditional costume, not even the older women. Nor do they carry distinctive shoulder bags, like the more assimilated of their Yi cousins in other counties of Chuxiong.

About 60 to 70 houses stand in Wudi, sited just below the summit of a high ridge, buildings of rammed earth, timber and tiled roofs. It is the architecture typical of rural Yunnan, with nothing particularly Yi about it, in stark contrast to the Yi log cabins of the northwest or the flat-roofed Yi houses of Honghe Prefecture (红河州). Homes sit close together along cobbled streets and are sited around a pond next to the central square, which extends halfway up the slope behind.

Near the top of this back slope is the village altar, so to speak, with three stones standing in a small clearing. This certainly identifies the village as Yi, for the custom is common to nearly all Yi sub-groups. The stones represent the original Yi ancestors, and rituals taking place here are conducted by a bimaw, the tribal specialist in such matters and office existing in every traditional Yi society. So in spite of their apparent assimilation into the folds of Chinese culture, the Yi of Wudi do retain at least vestiges of their original traditions.

Once a year, though, they do much more than exhibit vestiges. A fortnight after Chinese Spring Festival — or Lunar New Year — Wudi village stages a peculiar festival of its own called laohuzhuan (老虎转), or 'Dressing Up as Tigers' — that in no way resembles anything culturally Chinese, unless it be the shamanistic dances of ancient, preliterate times. For this event, several young men don strange costumes, paint their bodies and masquerade as tigers. They are joined by other men, including the village bimaw dressed in long black gowns. Together they perform magic dances to invoke the gods' blessings for the coming rice crop.

Perhaps in the past villages besides Wudi used to stage this event as well, but in Wudi itself the festival was banned in 1952 by Communist cadres bent on eradicating 'superstitions'. Not magic and ritual, but hard work and discipline will make the crops grow, ran the new argument. The undermining of other Yi customs and beliefs continued, sometimes subtly, sometimes fiercely, until the Reform Era launched by Deng Xiaoping in 1979. The Party then reversed policy on minority nationalities, who were then allowed to revive, more or less, as much of their ethnic traditions as they wished. In Yunnan, home to 24 of China's 55 minority nationalities, the government encouraged the process by repairing and renovating religious buildings and subsidizing festivals.

Lugu Lake is located between Ninglang County in Yunnan Province and Yanyuan County in Sichuan Province, about 300km away from Lijiang. It is a plateau lake with a total area of 52 square kilometers, 2,685 meters above the sea level. The average depth is 45m, and the deepest point being 93m. The lake remains an uncontaminated plateau lake with the crystal-clear water.

Lugu Lake is embraced in green mountains. The best-loved one by the Mosuo people is the Holy Gemu Mountain (the Lion Mountain). The local people worship it as their Goddess Gemu. On 25th July of each lunar year, they will gather at the foot of the mountain for a great sacrificial rite.

Among the five islands in the lake, three are in the territory of Yunnan and two in that of Sichuan. Heiwawudao, Ligedao are metaphorically called Three Islands of Ponglai (means Islands of the Immortals in Chinese). Sitting in the middle of the lake, Heiwawudao Island is also called the Chieftain Island because Ashaoyun, the chieftain of Yongning, built his villa on the island in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. Rock, an American scientist, also used to reside on this island. On the south side of the lake stand Liwubidao Island lies at the foot of the Lion Mountain. It is actually a small peninsular formed by the extension of the Lion Mountain into the Lake. A dozen of Mosuo families live on this island so it is possible for the visitors to experience the life on the island and, at the same time, enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake.

Many cultural sites and scenic spots are scattered along the lakeside. They are Mosuo villages, plateau hot springs, the underground maze- Lucky Cave, the Chieftain's Palace, Zhamei Lama Temple, Riyuehe - The Ruins of the Yuan Army Quarters when Kublai Khan was on his south expansion and Yongning - the key town on the Ancient Tea-horse Road.

The pretty and graceful Mosuo girls, the ancient and natural canoes and the pleasant fishing songs are considered to be the three most enjoyable things on the lake.

The Mosuos, a branch of the Naxi ethnic group with a population of about 15,000, are the main ethnic group scattered in the lakeside villages. The Mosuo women wear long hair tied into a bun and red, green and black garments and white folding skirts with colorful sashes tied round their waists. Before 13 years old, they usually wear long gowns. After the initiation ceremony at the age of 13, men wear trousers and women wear skirts.

The Mosuo people have their own ways and customs, and still retain some remnants of the matriarchal society. Men and women are not bound by marriage, each living at one's mother's home. Men work at home during the day and spend their night with the women they loved in theiv homes. Children are under the care of and supported by their maternal families. Fathers do not live in the same family with their children and women so that they are not bound up with their women financially in their production and life. This unique wedlock values affection and gives more freedom to men and women in their relationships. They may choose to unite or separate at will. It has been considered as the living fossil as a basis for a study of social patterns and matriarchal marriage customs in today’s world.

The Mosuo wooden houses are built with square-deged timber in the style of 'jinganshi building’ also called Mulengfang (Timber House). The Naxi villages look graceful and unaffected. The Zhuanshan Festival (the Festival of Turning-around the Mountain) which falls on 25th July of the lunar year is the traditional festival of the Mosuo people. On that day they would dress in their Sunday best to worship the Gemu Goddess Mountain (the Lion Mountain) and pray for the Goddess' protection. It is also a time for horse racing, wrestling and antiphonal sining. The young people take the chance to search for their lovers, whom they call A xia.