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.
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
The scenery of the scenic spot is good, and further planning and upgrading are needed. The ticket price is still relatively reasonable. The traffic is not very convenient, so there are not many tourists. After entering the gate, there are too many excrement of horses and they need to be cleaned up in time.
I hope that the attractions can standardize the behavior of horse riding. This behavior is really a bit corrupting the image of the scenic spot. The scenery is very beautiful, not losing Huanglong, but it is much easier to climb up than Huanglong, and the altitude is much lower. It is recommended that you go once before the scenic spot is on fire, and there are not many people now. The weather is very important, don't go without the sun. It is recommended to go in the morning, Shunguang. You can play slowly for two or three hours.
Going into the parking lot, there is a parking fee of 5 yuan. It is recommended to stop on the side of the road outside, because the parking lot is also on the side of the road. There is a promotion on the mountain, don't go to the mountain, some will increase the price halfway, and it is not far to go up, there is a plank road, not tired