The Baishui Tableland, also named the White Water Terraces, is located in the foothills of the Haba  Snow Mountains, 2380 meters above the sea level and 101 kilometers (about 62 miles) southeast of the Zhongdian County.
Being known as one of the most attractive destinations in mysterious Shangri-La, it is an ancient Chinese landform with a history of 200,000 to 300,000 years. The variegated landform of the tableland is a continual deposition of calcium carbonate that is contained in the spring water. Every year, the surface of the land is covered by the deposition and finally transformed into the present terraced structure. Today, the Baishui Tableland has an area of three square kilometers (about 741 acres).
The spring water runs down along the slope of the mountain, leaving an impression of a large white jade carving among the green mountains. The tableland lies layer by layer showing the appearance of a terraced field, so the local people call it 'a field left by fairies'. To the left of the tableland, there is a pool and a moon-shaped platform that is said to be the dresser of the fairies. During the autumn, the mountains around the Baishui Tableland will be covered by various bright-colored flowers and leaves. Amid the mountains, the Baishui Tableland will form a spectacular white contrast.
Besides being a beautifully scenic spot, the Baishui Tableland is also the birthplace of Dongba culture of the Naxi Minority Group. Baishui Tableland is called 'Baipuzhi'; in the Naxi language, which means gradually-growing-flowers. According to a legend, the first saint of the Dongba Religion was attracted by the fascinating and beckoning scenery of this place on his way back from Tibet. He then stayed to missionize there. Later, the Baishui Tableland became the Holy Land of the Dongba Religion. Opposite of Tableland is a limestone cave at the foot of Shangbo Hill, which was used to sacrifice to the king of dragon. When the second saint of the Dongba Religion came here, he created the Dongba pictograph inside. Because the second saint had practice Buddhism here, the cave is also called 'Amingling Cave'. Each year, on the eighth day of the second lunar month, the Naxi people will gather here to celebrate their traditional festival by singing and dancing all day and night.
The locus of Baishui Tableland is Baidi, one of the main settlements of Naxi people in Zhongdian. It plays a decisive role in the whole Dongba culture in Naxi area. Leaving the Baidi Village and turning to east, one can see the 60-meter-high Baidi waterfall surges down. |
