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 Twenty four km. north of Dali, at the foot of
Yunlong Peak of Cangshan Mountain is the Butterfly Spring. Riding
along Yunnan-Tibetan highway towards the northwest, you'll see a
stone statue of butterflies on the roadside denoting the site of
the fountain. Turning westwards, you'll find a huge marble arch
with a horizontal inscription of three Chinese characters Hu Die
Quan, meaning Butterflies' Fountain.
Shaded under tall trees, the fountain is a square
pond of some 20 metres in circumference. On the western wall of
the pond is an inscription of "HUDIE QUAN" (Butterfly Spring)
written by Guo Moruo. An old "butterfly tree" (accacia) spreads
 its boughs over the pond. In late spring and early summer, when
flowers of all kinds are blooming, the tree puts forth fragrant
white and yellow flowers, attracting thousands of real butterflies
to gather on its leaves. Some hundred species of butterflies,
different in size and colour, flutter around. Some of them, black
and white in colour, can be as large as a palm. Some of them are
in the size of a coin, having a bright golden colour. Some others
are silvery, pink or light green. They are sometimes linked in the
shape of a rainbow; sometimes they fly in pairs or clusters. The
most marvellous thing is that they would sometimes join together
one after another and form a long coloured string hanging from the
tree branches right over the surface of water. It is really a
spectacle worth seeing.
In recent years, new structures have been made,
such as the Butterfly Tower, the Hexagonal pavilion, the Octagonal
Pavilion, the Crescent Pool and the Tower Overlooking the Lake. On
the 15th of the fourth moon every year when the traditional
Butterfly Festival is due, people pour out there for relaxation or
excursion.
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