72 year-old man realizes butterfly dream

Shou Jianxin's butterfly specimen. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

Shou Jianxin, 72, from Xi'an in Shaanxi province, published four books showcasing 15,337 kinds of butterflies from around the world, including 2,233 from China.

"Finishing this book is a big challenge to me, but I am happy that I could finally publish this series of books after so many years of hard work," Shou said.

The bilingual books covered information about the butterflies in both English and Chinese, and also featured related stamps.

Shou has spent years collecting butterfly specimens. Many of the Chinese butterfly specimens and stamps in the series are from Shou’s own collection. He also bought some foreign specimens from a Taiwan butterfly collector.

Decorated by butterfly specimens that he collected over decades, Shou's livingroom and bedroom are a world of butterflies. His own house becomes a residence for a lot of butterflies that are often pupated after the beginning of each spring.

"The life span of butterflies is very short, yet they are amazingly beautiful creatures. I want to collect their short-existed beauty, which only last for a few days or no more than one month," Shou said.