We walked and walked, suddenly an ancient and chic irregular big stone came into view, the dragon flying phoenix dance on the butterfly spring three big characters, it seems that it is about to arrive, we quickly rushed away excitedly, from the archway to the butterfly spring, but 100 meters, so we soon saw the famous butterfly spring that is located at the foot of the first peak of Cangshan in Dali, Yunnong Peak, Shenmo Mountain, 27 kilometers away from the ancient city of Dali in the south.

The butterfly spring covers an area of more than 50 square meters and is a square spring pool. The spring water is as clear as a mirror, endless, and the thin water flows out of the bottom of the spring, it is like a transparent jewel, inlaid in the green shade, with its unique wonder, attracting tourists from near and far. The spring pond is two or three zhang square, surrounded by translucent marble to form a wide column, the spring water is crystal clear, the bottom of the spring is covered with crystal pebbles, a string of silver blisters, bubbling out of the water surface, constantly gushing out from the fine white sand, splashing up pieces of water. The bubbling spring water, this spring water has the power of turning snow into the mountains, not only the water volume is stable, the water quality is also very good, it is really surprising to be amazed by the magic of nature, breathtaking, a pool of clear water, clear as a mirror, the shade of the spring side is like a cover, a tall ancient tree, lying on the spring, this is the well-known butterfly tree. But we look around, but only saw a few sparse dead leaf butterflies, other butterflies are difficult to find, listen to Duan Gongzi not without regret said that although we came this time, but it is still a pity, because we all came at the wrong time, if we can come as scheduled in the spring, you can see the annual butterfly meeting, at that time, thousands of butterflies from all directions, flying in the spring all over the sky, like the colorful flowers flying in the air, colorful flowers in general, people like a dream, such as intoxicated, lingering, those butterflies have different shapes, as big as a palm, as small as copper coins。 Countless butterflies also hang from the acacia tree to the surface of the water in clusters. Colorful and a spectacle. Because every year from April to May of the lunar calendar, all kinds of exotic flowers and plants compete to bloom on Yunlongfeng Mountain, and the acacia trees by the spring exude a light fragrance, attracting thousands of butterflies to come to the party. These butterflies are as big as palms and as small as bees, and they either flutter among the colorful camellias, rhododendrons and other flowers and plants, or play on the heads of visitors with flowers and branches. There are also countless colorful butterflies, from the acacia tree, one by one, hanging upside down, even the whiskers hooked feet, knotted in long strings, hanging down to the surface of the water, under the sun, colorful and beautiful, spectacular and beautiful. Especially at the turn of spring and summer every year, especially on the day of April 15, if the weather is fine, it is unprecedented, not only the butterfly is amazing, but also a wide variety, such as the phoenix butterfly, the big tile gray butterfly, etc., there is everything, it has become the world of butterflies, and the butterfly tree is fragrant to attract butterflies. A large number of butterflies gather around the spring and fly all over the sky. The most strange thing is that thousands of colorful butterflies, each other follow each other, hang upside down on the butterfly tree, form countless strings, hang down to the water surface, magnificent. At night, it is even more beautiful, wonderful, the countless colorful butterflies from the acacia tree, one by one hang down, even the whiskers hook feet, knot into a long string, hang down to the water surface, form the butterfly spring unique butterfly fishing moon wonder.

Duan Gongzi gushed again: "The long-smelled butterfly spring can be summed up as three uniques" - spring, butterfly, and tree. The first to bear the brunt of the spring, the butterfly spring water is soaked out of the rock crevice sand layer, the water quality is particularly clear, as soon as it comes out of the surface, it gathers into a pool, there is no pollution, the spring water that gushes out is formed, followed by the butterfly, the butterfly spring is in the butterfly spring, there are many kinds of butterflies, between March and May every year, the butterfly is as big as a palm, the small is as small as a bee, and it is colorful on the acacia tree hanging by the spring in a bunch. On April 15th, the day was designated as the Butterfly Club by our Bai people. Finally, there are the trees. The beauty of Butterfly Spring is not only due to the newly planted trees such as phoenix tail bamboo and Christmas trees that we saw along the way, but also the pine forests, Berlin, palm forests, tea forests, rhododendron forests, and moso bamboo forests that are all over the mountains behind the spring, but also benefit from the unique local aromatic tree species such as acacia trees, sour incense trees, and Coptis chinensis trees by the Butterfly Spring. In particular, we are optimistic about this vigorous acacia ancient tree in the northwest corner of the butterfly spring, this is the butterfly tree, across the spring, whenever the late spring and early summer, the beginning of April flowering, the petals open like a butterfly during the day, and the petals close at night to spit out bursts of fragrant fragrance. The butterfly tree is in, the branches and leaves are swaying, the shade of the tree covers the sky and the sun, the ancient tree blooms, the shape is like a colorful butterfly, and exudes the fragrance of attracting butterflies, when the butterflies are clustered and flying, one by one, "even the whiskers hook the foot", hanging from the branches to the spring surface, forming thousands of butterfly strings, like a colorful ribbon. Butterflies are flying flowers, and the flowers of this acacia tree are still butterflies. The flowers and butterflies dance together, and it is difficult to argue whether they are true or false, which is truly a beautiful and breathtaking spectacle. So the butterflies will be on this day, the people who will watch the butterflies, wear red and green, come one after another, laughter and laughter make the butterflies more springy, jubilant, unfortunately, everyone still missed, only the next time when you are free, come and see it again. ”

Xiao Fei couldn't help whispering to me: "This place is indeed beautiful, the scenery is beautiful, the spring water is clear, and there are unique and rare wonders in the world, so the strange landscape of Butterfly Spring is even more famous, well-known at home and abroad, since ancient times, there are many literati and bachelors, to visit here, and wrote many important poems." The wonders of the butterfly spring have been in ancient times, the famous geographer Xu Xiake of the Ming Dynasty has a vivid record, the day has warmly praised the butterfly spring in the travelogue, he wrote - the big tree on the spring, when the beginning of April, that is, the flowers are like a butterfly, the wings are lifelike, and the butterfly is no different. There are tens of millions of real butterflies, even whiskers hooked feet, hanging upside down from the top of the tree, and on the surface of the spring, colorful and colorful. Visitors are all watching it in this month, and it is already in May. The Qing Dynasty poet Sha Chen also praised in the poem "Shangguan Butterfly Spring": - Thousands of butterflies in the blurred butterfly tree, and the tail is like a tassel of green trees. If you don't reach the butterfly spring, who is willing to believe it, the shadow banner covers the butterfly solemnly. Xu Xiake once made such a description in his travelogue - there are thousands of real butterflies, with whiskers hooked feet, hanging upside down from the top of the tree and on the surface of the spring, colorful and colorful. When the famous poet Guo Moruo visited the Butterfly Spring in Dali, Guo Moruo listened to the love legend of Awen Axia and improvised a 76-line poem "Butterfly Spring", which began with: Butterfly Spring, Butterfly Tree, Butterflies Fly Tens of Millions. The end is connected several meters, and the inflorescence is drooping from the tree. Colorful like flowers, fluttering with the wind towards the twilight. Butterfly visitors are more curious, and they gather together with the scattering of objects. After narrating the love tragedy of this young couple, he wrote: Butterflies from all directions are flying, and the end and end are dancing together. Since then, the butterfly will be held every year, once in April 25. It's strange that the world is lonely, and it's strange that this thing can be done. It's too late to bow your head and rest yourself, and you won't be wrong again in the next spring. He also wrote poems about butterfly trees at the head of the butterfly spring, thousands of butterflies flying in, connecting several meters from end to end, and drooping from the tree to the suspicious inflorescence. However, one says that butterflies are hooked with whiskers, and the other says that butterflies are connected from end to end, and both literati have not witnessed the spectacle of butterflies hanging in strings under the trees by the spring because of the inconsistency of the time, but in the end, which statement is closer to the truth of the details, it is up to us to carefully observe and draw conclusions. ”

I said with regret: "It's a pity that it didn't come at the right time, and I don't know how it happened." I also saw such a description in an ancient text - (at the foot of the mountain) there are trees hugging each other, leaning against the cliff and towering, there is a spring below, and the roots come out of the east direction, and the clear water can be seen. The big tree on the spring, when the beginning of April, is like a butterfly, the whiskers and wings are lifelike, and the butterfly is no different. There are tens of millions of real butterflies, even whiskers hooked feet, hanging upside down from the top of the tree, and on the surface of the spring, colorful and colorful. Visitors are watching from this month, and it is already past May. It's a pity that I can't see it with my own eyes, which is a little regrettable. ”

Hu Jiaojiao's crisp and pleasant voice interrupted our whispering, and it turned out that Shi Wan was asking Duan Gongzi again: "It's Duan Gongzi, I seem to have the same spring water here as the spring water in other places, why does it attract so many butterflies to fly here, why is it called Butterfly Spring?"

Duan Gongzi smiled slightly, and said in a beaming voice: "Because the formation of Butterfly Spring is related to the environmental conditions in this area. The spring is close to Cangshan Mountain in the west and Erhai Lake in the east. Cangshan is majestic and straight, towering like a screen, the top of the mountain is covered with snow, and it is crystal clear in summer. Clouds gather and rain, precipitation is abundant, and plants are each. The total area of Erhai Lake is about 240 square kilometers, with beautiful scenery, flowers and branches, and spring at all times. Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake not only provide human beings with the ornamental beauty of silver Cangyu Er, but also constitute a natural environment for butterflies and other insects to breed and grow in large numbers. Butterfly Spring is located in the north and east of the Erhai fault, which has formed numerous sinkholes and karst caves under the dissolution of groundwater, and has been recharged by atmospheric precipitation and surface water to form karst aquifers. The groundwater in the aquifer flows along the dissolution pipeline, and at the contact point with the alluvial and flood deposits, it is intercepted by fine-grained loose matter and overflows to form a butterfly spring. The water gushing from the spring is around 18.77 l/s. The salinity of the spring water is less than 0.5 g/L, it is calcium bicarbonate and magnesium type water, which is odorless and tasteless, and the water quality is light and beautiful. The spring is beautiful and the water is beautiful, and the acacia tree by the spring makes butterflies naturally happy to visit. It can be seen that the butterfly society was not caused by the death of the lovers, but by the special environmental conditions there. According to the local fathers' rumors, by the butterfly spring, there was originally a canopy of dense branches and leaves, white flowers, and fragrant cipong, and the flower branches were wrapped around the trunk of the horizontal slope spring, and the butterflies were connected in a string along these drooping flower branches. ”

Hu Jiaojiao nodded with satisfaction, and Zeng Lu also nodded frequently. Duan Gongzi was very happy to see that everyone listened with relish, concentrated, and he continued to talk endlessly, "In fact, there is a moving mythical story about the origin of the Butterfly Society. Butterfly Spring is also called bottomless pool. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a place called Sheephorn Village at the foot of the Yunlong Peak of Cangshan Mountain in Dali, Yunnan Province, and there lived a girl Wengu who was like a flower and jade and had a clever mind. Her industriousness and beauty made the lads dream of her innocent love. There is a handsome young woodcutter of the Bai nationality named Xia Lang on Yunlong Peak, who is not only strong in martial arts, but also kind. Legend has it that a long time ago, a father and daughter lived alone on the edge of the bottomless pool. The father is hardworking and honest, and his daughter is named Wengu, who is beautiful and kind. One day, the father and daughter were going up the mountain to chop wood, and suddenly a fawn with an arrow wound on its body lay down in front of them and called for help, and soon the young hunter Kasumari arrived. The kind-hearted Aunt Wen took pity on the injured fawn and pleaded with Xia Lang. Xia Lang agreed to Aunt Wen's request and promised not to hurt the fawn again, and then Aunt Wen took the deer back to her home to recuperate, so it was love at first sight, and then Aunt Wen and Xia Lang met at the mountain meeting on March 3, and they were in love with each other, and they fell in love with each other, and since then Aunt Wen and Xia Lang have fallen in love with each other from acquaintance to love, and set a lifelong commitment. But it's a pity that there is still a vicious and cruel King Yu living under the Cangshan Mountain, this very brutal local overlord King Yu fell in love with the beauty of the Wen Gu, he learned that Wen Gu was extremely beautiful, insatiable, and made up his mind to make Wen Gu his eighth concubine. It's a pity that countless attempts to marry were rejected, so King Yu was annoyed and angry, and decided to come hard. On a dark and windy night, King Yu led people to break into Aunt Wen's house, brutally killed Aunt Wen's father, and snatched Aunt Wen. This scene was seen by the deer who was rescued by Aunt Wen, and the deer ran to Cangshan at night and found Xia Lang. When Xia Lang heard the news, he and Xiaolu went down the mountain overnight, risking his life, sneaking into the palace and desperately rescuing Aunt Wen. When King Yu found out, he immediately led his troops to chase after him. Just as they were about to leave this place and go to another country, the pursuers with swords, guns and torches came after them, and chased them all the way to the bottomless pool. Exhausted, outnumbered, and desperate, Wengu and Xia Lang both jumped into the bottomless pool, and the deer that followed behind also jumped into the pool and died in the same way. In an instant, wind and rain were combined, lightning and thunder roared. Seeing that the situation was not good, King Yu fled in a panic with his officers and soldiers. The next day, after the rain and the sky cleared, the clouds cleared and the fog dispersed, and the villagers who salvaged Xia Lang and Wengu did not find their bodies, but saw a pair of colorful, bright and beautiful butterflies flying out of a huge bubble that rose from the deep pool. They entangled, chasing each other, inseparable from the water, dancing and attracting countless butterflies from all directions to frolic and hover over the waterhole. Soon, it attracted a lot of colorful butterflies, all of which flew to accompany the colorful butterflies that Wengu and Xia Lang became. Thousands of butterflies line up in pairs and flutter around the bottomless pool. For a while, head to tail, for a while, side by side, colorful, just like a fairy scattering flowers, very spectacular. Since then, people have called the bottomless pool as the Butterfly Spring. It was April 15 of the lunar calendar. Since then, on this day every year, countless beautiful butterflies gather here to tell this incomparably moving love story. This is our famous and well-known butterfly club in Dali. Although this is an ancient legend, every time in the fourth lunar month, when the mountain flowers are in full bloom, thousands of butterflies of different shapes and forms do gather at the spring. Everyone sighed after listening to this tragic love story.