You would never find the enchantment of towns on the plateau without visiting Yindu Shuixiang (Xinhua Village), a Bai ethnic group inhabited village scattered with lakes and rivers. The beauty of the town roots in the water. Though views here differ from each other in four seasons, it’s easy to feel charms of the ancient all the year round.
It is also called the "town of rivers" and "town of springs" here. The large-scale wetland near Caohai Lake is lush and pastoral songs teemed with a punt. A total of 108 lakes and 911 springs scatter all over the town, and the crystal rivers run below little bridges.
A woman washes greens beside a river in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan province.
In a house, a woman handles all the housework. Women prefer washing greens beside a spring. It is better to say “dipping” rather than “washing” greens, because they always soap the greens in the spring and drag them up after a while. For people having been living here for generations, they can’t live without springs.
Photo shows the ottelia acuminate floating on the Black Dragon Pool bordering Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture and Lijiang.
Black Dragon Pool
As a fresh water lake on the plateau, it is named after a tale that a black dragon lived in the lake. The water originates from an underground spring at the bottom of Fenghuang Mountain. Ottelia acuminate and fish are the special products of the lake.
Two women drag for ottelia acuminate in a boat in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan province.
The edible ottelia acuminate only grow in the fresh water whose temperature ranges from 8 ℃ to 13 ℃. Flowers of the ottelia acuminate are spotlessly white and spread out on the water, thus, it is also called “water lily on the plateau”. The stem of the ottelia acuminate are spoken as good ingredients of soups.
Photo shows the water mill which was built in the rule time of the Nanzhao Kingdom (738--937) in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan province.
Water Mill
Built during the rule time of the Nanzhao Kingdom (738--937), the water mill of the town is situated near Qingshuihe River. It is said that the men used to travel to distant parts to process handicrafts, leaving the seniors and women at home. The water mill had brought them great convenience. The water mill consists of a penstock, a water wheel, a millstone and an axis, spinning day and night. Today, it is not a main production tool any more, but it reminds people the attachment to nature landscapes and the fanciful thought towards the old lives.
Wetland of Caohai Lake
Abundant in water chestnuts and lotus roots, it is named Caohai Lake (lake of waterweeds) because villagers usually drag for water weeds in the lake in autumn.
Related reading:
Xinhua Village where silversmith always beat hammers
(Editors:Lynn, Minnie Mao)
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