Foot-binding Women in Liuyi Village

Liuyi Village lies to the south of Kunming, the capital of Yun��nan province. Known for its 300 foot-binding women, the village has become the last representative of the notorious federal practice.

Foot-binding women can be easily seen in the small village. Most of them began to bind their feet in the 1940s when China was experiencing political turmoil and people become intellectually enlightened. When the P.R.C was established in 1949, they decide to liberate their feet, but with years of physical damage, the hurt has become something that cannot be mended.

Mosuo People

In China, the Mosuo ethnic minority is the best presentation of a matriarchal society.

When you visit a Mosuo family, the hostess greets you in most cases while the man will have small talk with you. Women have absolute power in the community.

Theoretically, husband and father are not in the dictionary of the Mosuo people since they share walking marriage -- a unique tradition in which women invite men to visit their rooms at night and then to leave in the morning. Children of these "walking marriages" remain in their mother��s homes from the moment they are born.

It is not sexual liberation and wanton lust. There are strict traditional rules governing the custom. Most Mosuo women don't change walking-marriage partners very frequently and they rarely carry on more than one romantic relationship at a time. In addition, people in the same family lineage are not allowed to be engaged in romance.