Bāfān

Bafan was a name given to communities in the hill country south of Guizhou, around the region later called Dingfan. Local chiefs held a patchwork of territories among the valleys and slopes. In 1279 the Yuan recognised their submission and established an office for Bafan and Luodian, incorporating these districts into a larger system of frontier rule. The Ming later organised a number of hereditary chieftaincies here, including Great and Little Longfan. In 1586 it established Dingfan Prefecture in the Bafan country.