One day on an island in the river a dragon and a phoenix found a shining pebble and were so enchanted by its beauty that they decided to fashion it into a pearl such as the world had never seen before. So for many months and even years they stayed on the island carefully grinding and polishing the gem and bathing it in the waters of the Celestial River until finally it was a perfect shining sphere, by which time they had grown so close to each other that they remained on the island guarding their treasure.

This pearl was no common gem and the light it gave off was no common light. In the glow of its radiance spring, summer, and autumn ruled together all year round on the island. The trees grew tall, the plants lush and the flowers and fruit grew in such abundance that finally the enchanted island caught the attention of the Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wangmu. When she learned the cause of the magic her heart filled with longing for the pearl, so one night she sent a servant to steal it while the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix were sleeping. Then she hid it away in her innermost treasury behind nine locked doors.

The Dragon and the Phoenix were distraught when they woke to find their treasure gone. Day and night they searched the island, then the river and then the mountains and forests nearby, all to no avail. Then one day they happened to be passing the Queen Mother’s palace at Kunlun and saw it filled with the silvery radiance they recognized. The Queen Mother was holding a great feast to celebrate her birthday and on impulse, unable to keep the secret any longer, she brought out the stolen pearl for her guests to admire. They were all gazing in wonder and admiration when suddenly in burst the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix and accused the Queen Mother of having stolen their treasure.

She was furious and ordered her guards to throw them out. In the struggle that followed, the pearl was tossed through a window and began to fall towards the distant earth. The Dragon and Phoenix chased it through the air but could not catch up until it landed and became a clear green lake. Unable to part with their treasure, the two creatures settled down beside the lake and to this day Jade Dragon Mountain and Golden Phoenix Mountain still guard the lake in the far west of China.