Baishui Tableland (White Water Terraces)|china guides

At the foot of Haba Snow Mountain, in Baidi village, lies a snow-white terrace named "Baishui Terrace. Snugly situated on a mountain slope 2,380 meters (about 7,806 feet) above sea level, Baishui Terrace, 140 meters (about 459 feet) in length and 160 meters (about 525 feet) in width, is one of the biggest such terraces in China.

The top of the terrace features a semicircular platform pool, and spring water rises from the mountaintop and flows downward. Over many eons, calcium carbonate crystals contained in the streamwater have accumulated wherever the stream flows. As a result, the natural terraces look as though they are made of white marble - as if a silver waterfall tumbles through the green mountains. The spring water reaches the rim of one shallow basin and silently trickles into another, leaving exquisitely patterned tracks. Local people also call the terrace the "Paddy Fields created by the Fairies."

Baishui Terrace is also the cradle of the Dongba culture of the Naxi people. It is said that the founding father of Dongba culture settled here to spread his beliefs on his way back from Tibet. In addition, three superb pieces of Dongba literature were found here. These are the "Chongbangtong," a traditional account of the creation of the world; the "Lubanlurao", a detailed description of the long journey of the Naxiancestors when searching for their presenthome; and the "Dong'aishu'ai," an epic of Naxi heroes. Thus, Baishui Terrace is regarded as a sacred site of the Dongba culture.

Each year, on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar -- the day the founding father held his founding ceremony -- people of various groups congregate around the terrace, singing and dancing and slaughtering chickens to pay tribute. Tourists are invited to participate in this folk holiday while enjoying the wonderful landscape of Baishui Terrace.