Butterfly Spring, Dali

Travel 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Dali and you will come to a popular beauty spot known locally as the 'Butterfly Spring'. Situated at the foot of Mount Shenmo, the first of the peaks of Mount Cangshan, the spring rises to form a square shaped pool that is shaded by the dense foliage that lines its banks.

To get to here is easy. If you are renting a vehicle, just take about 40 minutes drive towards north of Dali Ancient City. If by bus, just take a bus from the west gate towards northbound. Otherwise, you can join a local tour package like we do. 

You will start your walk through the bamboo groove. It is really beautiful but I would prefer a little more density. 

On the way you will meet two weirdly shaped trees. The first one is this tree where two becomes one, the guide will want you to walk around the tree for 10 rounds to ensure your marriage is everlasting and if you are single, you will find your life partner soon.

The second tree is the two trees where you cannot walk between the two trees or your marriage will have trouble. If you are in a relationship, you will break up. Oh well, just take it as their touristy gimmick will do. Don't get too serious about it.

There is a sanctuary where you will see thousands of butterflies flying around you. The feeling is amazing. I unable to capture the scene by my camera as the butterflies are too small to be seen. 

So I got no choice but to take them very up close. All pictures are taken in macro mode. Macro lovers will like this place as the butterflies are not afraid of humans.

There is a pond nearby the sanctuary which is very beautiful. There is no reason for you not to take your own sweet time to take as many pictures as you like. Note: The Butterfly Spring is quite near to Zhou Town, which is the largest of the Bai communities and was once the imperial garden of the Dali Kingdom. Here too you can learn more of the Bai culture and visit some truly wonderful ancient buildings.

However, this pond is not the real highlight of the entire tour. The real highlight is the much smaller pond than this which is known as the Butterfly Spring.

The pool is 50 square meters (60 square yards) overall and above it is an ancient decumbent tree. This is the famous 'Butterfly Tree', so called as in the short interval as spring turns to summer, its fragrant blossom attracts thousands of butterflies. These small multi-colored creatures fly around the pool and settle on the tree in great clusters as they sip the nectar from its blooms. The vast numbers of butterflies are hardly distinguishable from the flowers as the whole tree pulsates with every color of the rainbow. This spectacular sight has given rise to a local festival when the Bai people gather at the tree on April 15th for the 'Butterfly Meet'. The romantic spectacle of the butterflies as they feed and mate in such abundance has become a symbol of courtship and each Bai youth will seek to engage with the love of his life by joining in with the traditional antiphonal singing. The Bai also refer to the Butterfly Spring as the 'Allegiance Spring' as it is here that true and lasting love may be found.

The total recommended hours you will spend here is about 1 hour. Is it worth it? Absolutely not because it is not free as you need to pay CNY60. The place is really small and got almost nothing but just a bunch of butterflies, a short walk of bamboo groves, a big pond and a tiny pond which is known as Butterfly Spring. My opinion is just skip this unless you really like with what I have shown you.

Ticket Price: CNY60
Business Hours: 8.30am - 5.00pm (daily)
Recommended?: 1/5