The Butterfly Spring

Overview

Butterfly Spring（Hudie Quan in Chinese）lies in a park at the foot of Yunlong Peak of Cangshan Mountain. This Butterfly Spring and a clear pool have been famous for centuries because every spring tens of thousands of butterflies of many species converge at this spot. The mate here and are attracted to silk trees, on which they rest, mate and drink the flower nectar.

It is quite fascinating. The spring has been decorated, and there is an inscription by Guo Moruo. The site is about 20 kilometers north of the ancient sector of the city of Dali with the Three Pagodas. If you are there at the right time in April and May, the spectacle is a highlight of a visit to the Dali and the Xizhou area.

Butterfly Spring sits at the foot of the Yunlong Peak, one of the peaks of Cangshan Mountain, near Dali in Yunnan Province. There is a pond with clear water mirroring the surroundings, and tens of thousands of butterflies gather here and dance in the sky. In the fourth lunar month every year (in April or May), the trees puts out flowers, and swarms of butterflies of two dozen or more species descend on the pond and park area, the silk trees and surrounding flowers, and many link themselves head to tail in colored ribbon-like strings which dangle over the pool.

For centuries, this place been a major tourist attraction. Some of the butterflies are large, the size of a palm; while others are as small as a penny. The variety of colors and patterns of the native species is a spectacle. People call it a “butterfly party.”

Nearby Attractions

In the park around Butter Fly Spring there is a Butterfly Museum. The Museum has tens of thousands of specimens of butterflies. In addition, a group of Bai women often come here to sew, and many tourists find this fascinating. They dress in native gear.

If you climb up to the mountainside, you can enjoy the beautiful sights of Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain.

The ancient town of Xizhou is only about 7 or 8 kilometers or 4.5 miles away.  It is a major highlight of a visit to this area.

Nearby Attractions

• There is a large market for specimens of butterflies in the park of Butterfly Spring.
• Zhoucheng Village is a Bai village about 2 kilometers away from Butter Fly Spring. The people in this town are mostly farmers, and a major industry here is dying cloth. So you can buy souvenirs and find bargains on  Bai cloth here. It is a small village of about 8,000 people, and almost all of the people are of the Bai ethnic group. The patterns and colors of the cloth that they die are unusual, interesting and beautiful. You’ll find both traditional and modern and surrealistic patterned cloth. The cloth can be made into clothing or used as tablecloth, scarves or curtains. Read more on Zhoucheng Village.

How to Get to there?