The Butterfly Miracle of Ma'andi

A border of the Jinping Miao， Yao，and Dai Autonomous Countyin Yunnan.“Can I check your ID，please？\"heasks.

Sharinga l56-kilometer border with Vietnam，Jinping is often referred to as the land of longevity， with a pristine environment that encompasses some of southeastern Yunnan's most stunning naturallandscapes.Yetwhattrulysets itapart is a natural phenomenon that occursonceayear，betweenMayandJune： More than 10O million butterflies emerge， hatching from their chrysalises，creating a“butterfly explosion”thathas garnered internationalfame.

Scribbling down the necessary information，the guard raises thebarrier and wavesus through.Driving along the cliffside road， we see vast rolling green hills speckled with banana trees and cornstalks aroundeverybend.Smallwaterfalls sometimes fall directly over thepitted dirt road littered with potholes，boggy patches， and remnants of mudslides-a result of Typhoon Yagi sweeping through the region last year.Drivingalong the cratered paths into Jinping's famed Butterfly Valley，Ibegin to rethink my idea of exploring one of China's most mysterious and breathtaking border regions.

A call comes in from the leader of Biaoshuiyan， a small village close to my destination.“Where are you guys？” he asks.

\"We've just passed Longbohe Bridge，” I reply.

He hangs up.Iglance at the GPS， indicatingthere'sanother4Okilometersof thisuphill climb.

The life of abutterfly

Oftenreferred toas the“butterfly homeland”of China，the Ma'andi township in Jinping is home to one of only two “butterfly explosions” in the world， alongside the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico.Of China's 12 recognized butterfly groups，11 can be found fluttering in the subtropical region's misty， dense forests.The golden Kaiser-i-Hind—China's national butterfly and one of the country's rarest butterfly species—can be spotted here.Since the discovery of the butterfly explosion in 1998， this ecological wonderland has slowly gained a reputation foritsrichand thrivingassortment of plants，insects，andrareanimals.

Ma'andi hasa tropical climate，withanaltitude ranging from 130 to 3，012 meters.It gets heavy rainfall，with 7O percentof theregion covered in forest， making it a prime breeding ground forbutterflies.Theregion'sabundantbamboo also plays a key role，as butterflies lay eggs inside the canes.

\"Over 340 butterfly species canbefound here，but the butterfly explosion mainly centers on one group， the jungle queen butterfly.\"

One of the best places to hit on the way to the ButterflyValleyisBiaoshuiyan，asmall village surroundedby vivid green rice fieldswithin Ma'andi.Home to just over 7O households mostly of the Hani ethnic group—the village greets visitorswith anarchadorned with wooden carvings of two large butterflies，a pair of ox

UnlikethemigratorybuterfliesinMexico'sreserve，thoseinJinpinghavebredlocallyforgenerations.Theiremergenceisstablein bothtimingandnumbers，andevenatpeak，theystaywithinaone-kilometerrangeoftheirhostplants.CourtesyofYangZhenwen）

horns，and four string instruments.Nearby， mist drifts over the 262-meter-long Biaoshuiyan Waterfall，oneofhundredsscattered acrossMa'andi.

“Over 340 butterfly species can be found here，”saysthe leaderofBiaoshuiyan villageas he points to the various butterflies，as well as sparrows， that have wandered into his home. AlankyHaniman inhis 5Os，he takesa puff from the bamboo bong he's smoking before continuing.“But the butterfly explosion mainly centers on one group，the jungle queen butterfly Theygatherduringthisbriefwindow，andsoon they'll start laying eggs in the bamboo.That's the first stage of the cycle.\"

Withinamonth，the insecthatchesfroman eggtobeginitslarvalstageasacaterpillar. The larvathen formsahard shell and becomes a pupa，atwhich time it initiates abreathtaking metamorphosis that culminates in its emergence asanadult butterfly.The most prominent species here，the jungle queen butterflies，live only about 15 to 30 days.

“This year's butterfly explosion happened alittlelater，aroundMay2O，withmostofthe butterflies being visible between June 5 and 9，\" the village leader tellsus.

Biting into somebeef jerkythathiswife prepared， the village leader points ata picture on thewall ofhim，hiswife，andanother woman.“Even Yang Liping （a nationally acclaimed Yunnan dancer） has come to visit the ButterflyValley.\"

But the spotlight of tourism hasn'tbeen all good news for the area and its delicate ecosystem. “There's less and less [bamboo]. Some have been cut down to build walkwaysnearby or have been shipped out to other places，” says the village leader.

From late May to mid-June each year，jungle queen butterfly caterpillars pupate and，aftera 15-day pupal stage，emerge asadults，resulting in the butterfly explosion [courtesy of Yang Zhenwen]

\"Management isn'tmeeting expectations.People come to wash clothes and bring food，which also attracts the butterflies.They're drawn to things like sweet rice wine，but while it doesn'taffect us， it can harm their fragilebodies.Thelarvae consume ittoo，andbecausetheyhavesuchlowresistance，it can seriously impact their development，affecting future generations as well.\"

Butterfly Valley

The next morning， I set out for Ganbaxiang village， the place where most of the remaining butterflies can be found.Driving through a drizzle， Ieventually encounter a ranger ina camo outfit sitting alongside a stone staircase collecting the 10- yuan entrance fee into Butterfly Valley.

Butterflies flutter left and right on the hike up， huddling together on tree trunks and feeding from the juice of different fruits.Tourists are busy snapping photos and walking up the stone steps to venture deeperinto thevalley. The trickling sound ofthevalley's fresh mountainwatermixesin with a chorus of bugsand other forest creatures.Ican only imagine what it looked like at the height of thebutterfly explosion，whenan estimated 150 millionbutterflieshatched.

An older Chinese woman asks a ranger to take a photo of her with a peaceful cluster of jungle queen butterfliesresting ona tree trunk.To create abetterbackdrop，she picksupa treebranch to swatatthebutterflies，startlingthem.Shockedat the inconsideratebehavior，Iask her，“How would youliketo beswatted byabranch？” Startled，but acknowledginghermistake，she embarrassedly walksdownthestairsandleaves.

\"Does this happen often？ How do you guys manage these types of tourists？” Iask the ranger， who seems to be unmoved by the act.He says he's seen worse， such as tourists pulling apart the butterflies’wings.He suggests thatIvisit Yang Zhenwen，a renowned butterfly expert in Ma'andi to learn more about the valley.

I linger another hour， watching the dazzling butterflies flutter and dance.

Protectors of the valley

YangZhenwenrunstheButterfly Garden Lodge，a small mountain retreat not far from Ganbaxiang village.“Most people think Butterfly Valleyis justa valley.ButhereinMa'andi，it actually covers 273 square kilometers，\"he says while pouring tea.“Apart from the protected area.

there are over 8O villages，and they'reall part of the valley.\"

According to Yang， the number of butterflies is declining.In 201O， there were over 4OO million butterflies.Today，it'saround1OO million.Global warming，habitat destruction，and pesticides from farming are all major factors.The total coverage area of the butterfly explosionhasalso decreased by 20 percent since 2010， from 56，000 mu to 46，OOO mu.“But the high forest coverage and villages beingbuiltatloweraltitudeshave helped preserve the core butterfly regions，which arearound1，3oO metersabovesealevel.The coverageareahasalsostayed steadyinthepast five years，\" says Yang.

An active participant in butterfly conservation， YanghopestheButterflyValleycanbecome aharmonious environment where locals and butterflies coexist.He says the local government is doing its part to increase awareness and boost the overall protection of the butterfly ecosystem， while promoting tourism to help bolster the local economy.

\"In 201O， the local government enacted the \"We need to develop， protect， and utilize this world. Conservation is the combination of protection and utilization.\"

Butterfly ValleyManagementRegulations，local laws aimed at protecting butterflies，”he says. “These regulations were the first in the world dedicated to protecting butterfly biodiversity. Now， there is alsoa Butterfly ValleyManagement Bureau，whichisaimed at protectingButterfly Valley.”However， more funding and support are still needed from the central government， especiallynow with the roadsin need of repair.

Yang hasbeen raising five types of butterflies onasmall enclosed section onhis manor： the Swordtail，Phoenix，Kretu，Blue-striped，and ead Leaf butterflies.While I take a glance athis small butterfly preservation center， tourists continue to stroll in to interact with the delicate creatures.

\"If there weren't people protecting pandas in their natural habitat， they would've become extinct early on.Humans are a part of the world，\" he reassures me.“We need to develop，protect，and utilize this world.Conservationis the combination ofprotection and utilization.\"

The rain begins to pour down again.“I hope for two things：First， to protect our natural resources and ecology.Wherever restoration isneeded，we shouldhelp.Let thebutterflies， along with the people， live here peacefully and happily.\"Yang says.“Second，let the butterflies take flight.They're beautiful creatureswithwings that can soar， guidingboth the villagersand the local economy.\"

Taking a final sip of tea，Itell Yang that I have to go. On the way out， an orange and black butterfly flutters by，landing on the flowerpotsright in front of us.“This is a Leopard Lacewing，”he says excitedly， reaching forhis phone to capture the moment.