This region is very close to both Tibet and Sichuan province. The Mosuo are believed to have descended from the Tibetan plateau, and maintain Tibetan Buddhist customs.
Their society is well known for its matriarchal structure, a system under which women are the head of the family and husband-wife relationships do not exist. Matchmaking occurs under a free visits system, whereby men visit their partner in the evening before returning to their home. Men and women may have many partners at a time. Fathers usually maintain very few links with their children, instead looking after their sisters' children in their own home.
In official Chinese government classification, the Mosuo fall under the Naxi minority; however, despite geographic proximity the two groups remain culturally distinct.