As the dragon of the Himalayas snakes its head down through Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces all the way down to Chiang Mai, it runs into the rolling green hills of Guizhou Province. The deep valleys and fertile uplands of this region nurtures and protects the last of China's ancient peoples. There are silversmithing Bai and Miao, bonfire-loving Yi and Naxi, religious highland Tibetans and equally devout Hui Muslim trader communities.

They collide around the Moon City of Xichang, with its four temples built to appease the Tibetans back in the day. They spill out into Lugu Lake, and around Goddess Mount where the Mosu boys chase the Mosu girls through the village lanes. They disappear into the Muli region that separates the Tibetan plateau from the lush green tea mountains of south central Sichuan.

There are a million stories circulating through these hills and here is one of them:

When the Red Army reached Liangshan, as this region is called, they met the fierce Yi people, who loved independence and saw no reason to support one Han faction against the other. At a lake near Xichang, the Red Army general drank chicken blood and moonshine with the chief of the Yi and they sealed a bargain. The Yi would let the army pass through on their Long March north to Shaanxi and the Communists would leave the Yi alone once the war as won.

To sweeten the deal, the general married his headstrong, beautiful daughter to the chieftain of Lugu Lake. The Mosu chieftain had many wives and girlfriends and was proud and eager to take on another. The Communist Princess, however, saw only rivals that needed to be taught a lesson.

She rode around the lake on a white horse and flowing red dress, packing six-shooters on her hip. When she wasn't chasing bandits or educating the populace, she broke down doors to find her husband, shooting up the place and sending wanton harlots scurrying for their lives.

She was  queen in a land of queens: the Mosu were once matriarchal and perhaps still are ...

Eventually, she was betrayed by some venal half-man and his band of thieves. The Communists, for whom she fought and toiled all her young life, put her in prison for 30 years.

When she was released, she returned to Lugu Lake and lives there now, a glowing old woman with daring eyes and a defiance unbroken. She serves stories and bbq to any who visit her home ...