Yòudiàn

Youdian lies in the mountain country between Yongchang and Shunning, east of the Lancang River. Under the Ming it belonged to Shunning Prefecture, while neighboring valleys fell under other officials and hereditary chiefs. Tea was cultivated in the wider district, where experience in growing and processing the leaves developed during the Yuan and Ming. Mountain slopes and small basins shaped the scattered settlements of this western Yunnan country.