Yúnlián

Yunlian lies in the mountains on the southern edge of the Sichuan Basin, close to the roads into Yunnan. The county was established under the Ming in 1371, in a region inhabited by Yi communities and governed in part by hereditary chiefs. In 1373 a local chief, Bian Zhang, led a rising against Ming rule, drawing support from neighbouring chiefs and briefly taking areas south of Changning and Jiang'an.