Mídù

Midu lies in a basin south of Dali, once known as Baidaya. An iron pillar cast in 872 under Nanzhao stands in a temple here, bearing an inscription dating its erection. Local tradition made the pillar a sacred object and linked it to the beginnings of Nanzhao's ruling house. By the Yuan an old temple already sheltered it; its main hall was rebuilt in the early Qing, preserving a place of worship around the ancient monument.