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under the Yunnong Peak, Mt. Cangshan, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.
Gather palace for butterfly.
Butterfly Spring where thousands of butterflies flutter among the branches and blossoms and over the spring forming an amazing ' Kingdom of Butterflies'.
Located 27km south of Dali Ancient Town, the Butterfly Spring was named as the spring rises to form a pool which was shaped by the dense leaves. Above the pool there is an ancient tree known as the Butterfly Tree, because its fragrant blossom attracts thousands of butterflies in the short interval of spring turns to summer. These colorful creatures fly around the pool and settle on the tree in great clusters as they sip the nectar from the blossoms. This spectacular sight has given rise to a local festival when Bai people gather around the tree on 15 April for the Butterfly Meet. Then the youth will seek to engage with their loves.
Butterfly Spring was originally called “Bottomless Pool” (Wuditan). According to Bai folklore, a young man named Xialang and a beautiful girl named Wengu fell deeply in love. However, Wengu was taken away by a local prince. Xialang rescued her, and the couple fled to the edge of the Bottomless Pool. Surrounded by pursuers with no way to escape, they chose to leap into the deep pool together. The next day, a pair of colorful butterflies emerged from the pool, followed by countless others circling in the air. To honor this loyal couple, the Bai people renamed the pool “Butterfly Spring” and designated the 15th day of the fourth lunar month as the “Butterfly Meet” festival—a day for young Bai men and women to express love.
【Spring】
The first wonder is "spring". Butterfly Spring is soaked from the sand bed, the water quality is especially clear filtered by the thick sand layers without any pollution. The springs come from Butterfly Spring, in recent years the waters have been stored up in three pools by park managers for people to watch, the largest pool is about 10 mu. The park of Butterfly Spring contains a Butterfly Museum which keeps lots of species of butterflies.
【Butterfly】
The second wonder is the "Butterfly". In Butterfly Spring, there are many different kinds of butterflies, every year in March to May, some butterfly is as big as a palm, and some is as small as bee. April 15 became Butterfly Party by the Bai people. Xu xiake described it in his travel notes: “There are thousands of butterflies, many of them may even connect with each other by head and tail and hang from the Silktree Albizzia to the water's surface. The sight is so magnificent and wonderful.”
If tourists miss the Butterflies Party, there is a new butterfly pavilion in the south of Butterfly Spring, which reproduces the butterfly ecology, species and the butterfly culture in Butterfly Spring that provides the visitors who can't visit the Butterfly Party the valuable information of Butterfly Spring wonder.
【Tree】
The last wonder is the "tree". In the Butterfly Spring Park, there is "the beauty of the Butterfly Spring is green, please take good care of flowers and trees" environmental sign, this sentence show the beauty of the Butterfly Spring is green. The fernleaf hedge bamboos, the Christmas trees are seen along the passageway, and after the spring there are the pine forest, palm grove, tea grove, rhododendron forest, and some local unique aromatic incense tree species like albizzia. The acacia tree in Butterfly Spring, when the flowering season in early April, its petals just look like the hidden butterfly during the day, and its petals fold and smell fragrance at night. The poet praise the butterfly is the "flying flowers", and this albizzia is "still butterfly". All kinds of flowers bloom in the third and fourth month of every lunar year on Yunnong Peak. The big Silktree Albizzia gives off a faint fragrant scent. The scent attracts the butterflies, so thousands of them congregate around the Butterfly Spring.
It is any time to have a butterfly flying in Butterfly Spring, in addition to April each year, in the other time people can not see the wonder of thousands of butterflies congregate around, so it is not recommended to visit Butterfly Spring in unsuitable time.
【Best Travel Time】
The Butterfly Party will be hold in April 15th every year in lunar calendar, at that time thousands of butterflies fly from all quarters, flying around the spring, many of them may even connect with each other by head and tail which is so magnificent.
Stone Memorial Archway (Shipaifang)
At the park’s entrance stands a striking stone archway built from local blue stone, embodying the architectural style of the Bai ethnic group. The three Chinese characters “蝴蝶泉” (Butterfly Spring) were inscribed by the renowned Chinese writer Guo Moruo. At each roof corner sits a small animal carving—a “tile cat” (瓦猫), one of the Bai people’s protective totems.
Five Dragon Pool (Wulongchi)
In Bai culture, where there are mountains, there must be water; where there is water, there must be dragons. Here, five crystal-clear streams gush from dragon head sculptures, splashing into five small ponds below. The largest pool forms a picturesque scene of “clear spring flowing over stones.”
Lovers’ Lake (Qingrenhu)
Covering 6,000 square meters, Lovers’ Lake is shaped like a giant butterfly resting among flowers and willows. It is formed from the outflow of Butterfly Spring, with water so clear that the lakebed is visible. A performance area nearby hosts Bai ethnic song-and-dance shows, making it a favorite stop for couples.
Viewing Pavilions
Butterfly World (Butterfly Pavilion)
Built in 2004, this 820 m² greenhouse replicates the natural living conditions of butterflies. Using advanced breeding techniques, staff raise a variety of species. Visitors can walk among vibrant butterflies, observe them up close, and learn about artificial breeding.
Butterfly Museum
Founded in 1995 and covering 1,600 m², it is one of China’s largest butterfly museums and serves as a Yunnan Provincial Science Education Base. The museum houses over 45,000 specimens from 11 families and 400+ species, including the rare “Three-tailed Brown Butterfly” (三尾褐风蝶) and the golden-spotted swallowtail—both considered living fossils. The most extraordinary exhibit is the “Yin-Yang Liangzhu Butterfly,” whose left wing is female and right wing is male, a phenomenon found in only one out of every thousand butterflies.
【 Hours Couple Sightseeing Route】
Sightseeing Time: 2 to 3 hours
For the crowd: couple
Arrival pattern: Special vehicle in the scenic spot, self-driving
Attractions on route: East Gate—Cuizhu Avenue—Xu Xiake Garden—Small Memorial Archway —Butterfly World—Five Dragons Spray Pond—Butterfly Spring—Big Crescent Moon Pool—Butterfly Museum—South Gate
【Hours Family Sightseeing Route】
Sightseeing time: 3 to 5 hours
For the crowd: family
Arrival pattern: special vehicle in the scenic spot, self-driving
Attractions on route: East Gate—Cuizhu Avenue—Xu Xiake Garden—Small Memorial Archway—Butterfly World—Five Dragons Spray Pond—Butterfly Spring—Big Crescent Moon Pool—Butterfly Museum—Wanghai Pavilion
【Chinese Name】: 蝴蝶泉
【Recommended Visiting Hours】: 2 to 3 hours
【Opening Hours】: 8:00–18:00 (daily)
【Ticket Price: ¥40 (adult)】; park shuttle bus ¥20
【Nearby Attractions】: Erhai Lake, Cangshan Mountain, Dali Ancient Town
From $ 333
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