Zhènkāng

Zhènkāng lies in the mountainous southwestern Yunnan frontier. Under the Yuan dynasty, Zhènkāng was the name of a circuit covering parts of what are now Zhènkāng and Yǒngdé counties. The Ming reduced Zhènkāng Prefecture to a subprefecture in 1384; after its abolition, a subprefecture was established again in 1409. Under the Qing it belonged to Yǒngchāng Prefecture.

The historical administrative area and its seat should not simply be equated with the present county. A historical place-name reference locates the old subprefectural seat in what is now Yǒngdé County, illustrating how administrative geography and names changed over time.