Lanping is located in the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (Chinese: 云南三江并流) ,which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Yangtze (Jinsha), Lancang(Mekong) and Nujiang (Salween) rivers, in the Yunnanese section of the Hengduan Mountains. It is the only Bai and Pumi autonomous county of China. The unique geographical location and multiple minorities promote colorful and long-standing history of Lanping.

The History of Three Parallel Rivers

Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (29º00' - 25º30'N, 98º15 - 100º20'E) is a World Heritage Site in the Yunnan Province of the Peoples Republic of China. The dates and history of the establishment are as the following:

1983: Gaoligong Mountain and Baima Mountain National Parks designated;

1984: Bita and Napa Lakes and Haba and Yulong Mountain reserves designated;

1985: National Interim Rules on the Management of Scenic and Cultural Resorts decreed; and made the responsibility of the Ministry of Rural and Urban Construction & Environmental Protection;

1986: Laojun Mountain reserve designated;

2000: Overall plan for the protection and management of the property submitted to the central government.

The History of Pumi Ethnic Group

The Pumi have a long history and their path of migration is historically traceable. Originally, they lived as nomads inhabiting the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Later, they moved to the warmer areas along valleys within theHengduan Mountain Range in the 4th century B.C. Their ancestors probably are the ancient Qiang people, a nomadic tribe on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Subsequently, they moved to Northern Sichuan in the 7th century, and subsequently to northwest Yunnan in the 14th century. Many of them settled down to become farmers, and local landlords dominated the Pumi economy in Lanping and Lijiang counties. Except for a small number of common areas, the landlords held large areas of lands and collected rental fees from the peasants. This accounted for at least 50 per cent of the harvest. Pumi landlords and Nakhi chiefs also traded domestic slaves.

With the coming of the Cultural Revolution, the landlords' powers were severely weakened. The coming of modern facilities and technologies, such as hospitals and factories, have also greatly changed the lifestyle of the Pumi.

The History of Bai Ethnic Group

In the Neolithic age 4000 years ago, the ancestors of Bai Ethnic Group lived in Lake Erhai in Mt. Cangshan and Lake Dianchi. The early civilizations of the rice farming were created in the terrace along the river. From Western Han Dynasty (202BC-8) to the early Tang Dynasty (618-907), under the influence of Han culture and other exotic culture, the ancestors of Bai Ethnic Group constantly suffered the dispersion and polymerization and established the Nanzhao, Dali and other regimes. In 1253, the Dali regime was beaten by Mongolia. In 1381, Ming army cancelled the hereditary privileges in Dali. During the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasty, the politics, economy, culture and other parts gradually formed integrally with Central Plains.

About Warring States Period, the first national embryonic form Baiziguo appeared. Until the early Tang Dynasty, the trade of ancestors of Bai Ethnic Group took shape. The Chinese Civilization and India Civilization spread to the Lake Erhai area. Therefore, the culture of Bai formed preliminarily. The rise of Nanzhao as a political force combined various tribes and ethnic fusions together. Everyone in the united regime contacted freely, which gradually eliminated the tribal difference about culture and language. The Buddhism from India helped the Bai form the ideological preparation and foundation. Then the culturally and linguistically homogeneous ethnic community finally formed which is the Bai Ethnic Group. In Song Dynasty (960-1279), Bai stepped into a mature period. When the Mongols conquered Dali, the decline of Bai began. In Ming (1368-1644), the cultural castration policy toward Bai made a lot of Bai assimilated to Han. At the end of Qing and Republic Period, Bai almost lost the independent national identity. In 1956, the Bai ethnic identity was recognized.