Pu’er Prefecture (普洱府/普洱专区/思茅地区) refers to the historical administrative region in southern Yunnan that eventually became today’s Pu’er City. Here is its evolution:
Historical Timeline
| Period | Name | Key Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1729 | Pu’er Prefecture (普洱府) | Established in the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty, separating six banna regions east of the Lancang River from the Cheli Pacification Commission |
| 1913 | Abolished | The Qing Pu’er Prefecture was abolished; Simao Subprefecture became Simao County |
| 1950 | Ning’er Special Region (宁洱专区) | Established after 1949, seat at Ning’er County |
| 1951 | Pu’er Special Region (普洱专区) | Renamed from Ning’er; Ning’er County renamed Pu’er County |
| 1953/1955 | Simao Special Region (思茅专区) | The commissioner’s office moved to Simao; renamed Simao Special Region |
| 1970 | Simao Prefecture (思茅地区) | Simao Special Region renamed Simao Prefecture |
| 2003 | Simao City (思茅市) | Simao Prefecture abolished; prefecture-level Simao City established |
| 2007 | Pu’er City (普洱市) | Simao City renamed Pu’er City; the urban district renamed back to Simao District |
Key Points
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Pu’er Prefecture (Qing Dynasty, 1729) originally covered parts of today’s Pu’er City and Xishuangbanna
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The region was a major hub on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, where tea from the mountains was collected, processed, and distributed
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The name was changed from Pu’er → Simao (1953) to reflect the administrative seat, then back to Pu’er (2007) to leverage the global brand recognition of Pu’er tea
Today’s Pu’er City (普洱市) governs 1 district (Simao) and 9 autonomous counties, covering ~45,000 km² with a population of ~2.3 million.