In the early years after establishment of New China (1949), many movies were produced based on stories of certain minority ethnic groups. Although these movies had different themes, depicted different figures, presented different times, they all spontaneously showed the simplicity of the folk customs, beautiful minds, and unique ethnic tradition of singing and dancing of these minorities to broader Chinese audience.

“By the Butterfly Spring” is an interlude song from the romantic comedy film “Five Golden Flowers” produced by Changchun Film Studio in 1959.

The movie told the love story of a pair of Bai youth who made promise of love through antiphonal singing by the butterfly spring in Dali, Yunnan. At that time, the unique tradition of Bai people expressing love through antiphonal singing was still quite unfamiliar to other Chinese ethnics.

Diaojiaolou (literally means hanging attic) is a residential house with a dense architectural flavor of the ethnic minority (Miao, Zhuang, Buyi, Dong, Shui, Tujia Ethnics) in the southwestern provinces (Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan provinces). The wooden building is built close to the mountain or above the water (creek or river) with an extended floor space. These houses are usually built on slopes with only supporting wood pillars and no foundation and are 100% made of wood without iron.