Zhènnán

Zhennan occupies a mountain basin on the route west from Chuxiong. Once known as Qianshe, it became Zhennan Prefecture under the Yuan and remained part of Chuxiong Prefecture under the Ming and Qing. Travellers and official messengers passed through on the road toward Dali, making the town a stopping place between eastern and western Yunnan. The Ming built an earthen wall around the earlier seat, later replacing it with brick. In 1615 the magistrate moved the seat and built a new walled town with four gates. Schools and temples accompanied the growth of the administrative centre, while relay stations along the western road supplied travellers and carried official dispatches.