Píngdiān

Pingdian lay in the upland country of central Yunnan, among the settlements later governed from Xi'e. The Yuan established Pingdian as a county under Xi'e Prefecture, alongside neighbouring Qiongchuan. In 1289 Xi'e itself was reduced to county status and both smaller counties were absorbed into it as townships. Their names nevertheless preserved an older pattern of local administration, formed when the newly established Yuan government organised this mountainous country into separate jurisdictions.