Fùlín

Fulin lies in the Dadu River country of Hanyuan, south of the old county seat at Qingxi. The Qing gazetteer distinguished Fulin Township from Hanyuan Township and described Fulin Camp as a meeting place on the southern road. Chinese merchants and traders from neighbouring upland peoples gathered there. Fields, tiled houses and paths occupied the valley landscape approaching the settlement, while the surrounding mountains confined travel to a limited number of routes.

The wider district combined military establishments with civil government. During the Ming, the Dadu River guard and the Lizhou administration supervised parts of this frontier; their institutions changed repeatedly through war and reorganisation. In 1681 the Qing combined the Lizhou and Dadu River guard establishments. Civil county administration followed in the Yongzheng period, with its seat at Qingxi. Fulin remained a separate southern market and settlement within that jurisdiction. Its commercial role arose from the convergence of travellers and merchants on the road, rather than from being the county capital.