The 'Chinese version of Cotton Castle' Baishuitai
🪽Baishuitai is located at the foot of Haba Mountain, Shangri-La, in Sanba Township southeast of Shangri-La County, 101 kilometers away from the county town, with an altitude of 2380 meters, known as the birthplace of the Naxi Dongba religion.
Baishuitai is a natural wonder formed by calcium carbonate dissolved in spring water. The spring water containing calcium bicarbonate slowly flows down, and the carbonate gradually precipitates, forming a platform over the years, like terraced fields. It is called 'Fairy Terraces'. Covering an area of about 3 square kilometers, it is the largest spring terrace in China.
Like a palette overturned by God🎨, layers of snow-white terraces are stacked, filled with clean water of green and yellow, a natural wonder formed by calcium carbonate dissolved in spring water, which is amazing.
📍Location: Located at the foot of Haba Snow Mountain, in Baidi Village, Sanba Township, southeast of Shangri-La County
🚗Transportation: 101 kilometers away from the county town, self-driving is recommended
🧭Recommended route: Lijiang—Tiger Leaping Gorge—Baishuitai—Shangri-La (you can also go the other way)
🎫Ticket: 30 yuan/person
⏰Opening hours: 8:00-16:00
🗺️Attraction introduction
✅Domestic Cotton Castle, God overturned the palette, layers of snow-white stacked, calcium carbonate dissolved in spring water, amazing, it is said to be the terraces transformed by the gods of the Naxi people, later generations also called 'Fairy Terraces'.
✅Baishuitai is a natural wonder formed by calcium carbonate dissolved in spring water. The spring water containing calcium bicarbonate slowly flows down, and the carbonate gradually precipitates, forming a platform over the years, like terraced fields. Baishuitai is not only a beautiful place, but also the center of the birthplace of the Naxi Dongba religion, the place for religious activities and ethnic programs.
✅According to research, Baishuitai was originally used to worship gods. It is said that the first holy ancestor of the Naxi Dongba religion, Dingbashiluo, was attracted by the beautiful scenery of Baishuitai on his way back from studying Buddhist scriptures in Tibet, and stayed to set up an altar to preach, so it is a sacred place for Naxi Dongba believers. The local Naxi people's houses, costumes and crafts are also very distinctive.
✅As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, Baishuitai had become a famous tourist spot in western Yunnan. On the stone wall at the source, there is a poem written by the Naxi native prefect Mu Gao of the Ming Dynasty: 'Five hundred years ago, a monk, once lived in the Buddha land to guard Hong Neng. Cloud waves and snow waves have three thousand ridges, jade ridges and silver hills have tens of thousands of ridges. The winding flow is not stained with dust, and the layers of jade surge and the water is always solidified. The Yangtze River will always be the jade of the heart field, and I admire this high man for being superior.'
✅Dongba culture
Shangri-La County is a Tibetan-inhabited area, but the area near Lijiang Drum is mostly Naxi, and it is the birthplace of the Naxi 'Dongba culture'. Dongba religion is an ancient religion of the Naxi people, 'Dongba', can be translated as 'mountain chanters'. Every year in mid-spring, on the eighth day of the second lunar month, nearby residents often come to worship, and Dongba from afar also come to worship. People 'do not count a hundred miles to come, offer wine and tea, do not agree to a thousand people to gather', year after year, it has become a custom, and the eighth day of the second lunar month has become a grand event for Sanba spring outing.
The scenic spot is not big, the scenery is beautiful, friends say it is like Turkey. The aunts selling water in the scenic spot are very warm and friendly, and take the initiative to help guide the way and introduce how to play. It’s just entering the scenic spot, the horse help tastes great, I hope it can be improved.
The Baishuitai that went to the trip was connected to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Compared with the road conditions of the first two years in legend, the road conditions are much better now, the road time is not much, and the ticket prices are relatively fair. The overall attractions meet expectations, especially the effect of the film on sunny days is excellent. It should be noted that the horse riding at the door is not high for most people, and the stairs are not difficult to climb. There is no need to ride. The elderly can ride with poor physical strength, but it is recommended not to choose the kind at the gate 30-40. Take a few more steps, and the price inside will immediately drop to 10 yuan per person.
Recommended Baishuitai is worth a visit. On the way up the mountain, many observation decks can also see the location of Haba Snow Mountain: Baishuitai at an altitude of 2380 meters. Tickets for Baidi Village, Sanba Township, southeast of Shangri-La County: 30/person This is the domestic Pamukkale. It was a palette knocked over by God. The snowy terraces stacked with blue, green, yellow water were really dreamy, like breaking into the remains of a fairy
The scenic spot is not big, it is recommended to walk, no need to ride horses, there are many villagers under the mountain to persuade you to ride horses all the way, do not care, unless you don't want to go, walk up to the top of the mountain soon, the most beautiful scenery is on the top, "fairy heritage field". Look at the picture
Wall crack recommended, 30 yuan is too worth, the scenery is really beautiful, because there are fewer tourists in the peak season where the high-speed reaches, it is very good, actually see the colored clouds, too beautiful, directly above the picture.