Běishèng

Beisheng was a native prefecture by the Jinsha River in northwestern Yunnan. The Yuan established Shizhou in 1278 and renamed it Beisheng in 1280; it was raised to a prefecture in 1287.

The Ming reduced Beisheng to a sub-prefecture in 1382 and moved its seat into Lancang Guard city in 1496. In the great earthquake of 1515, the northwestern walls collapsed and over 1,500 houses were destroyed. Abolished in the late Ming and restored under the Qing, it became Yongbei Prefecture in 1698 and an independent department in 1770.