Sweet Nights and State Power

The Mosuo people, in their villages on the border with Tibet, are a culture in the midst of fading away.

Ethnic Han from the cities, hearing about the alleged "free love" attitudes of the Mosuo, are making their holidays there in droves, bringing money and "big city" thinking with them.

The Han ignorance of how Mosuo society functions has created no small amount of friction with the locals, and some young Mosuo are being drawn out of the villages to seek their fortunes in the cities.

What we're seeing is societal evolution in action. The Mosuo seem to be doing a good job of holding onto their cultural identity, so I doubt they'll be completely assimilated.