Geographical scope of Dehong prefecture 

　　"Dehong," is a word in the Dai language, which means "the lower reaches of the Nujiang River." Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture won the name because of its geographical location. It is one of the eight ethnic minority autonomous prefectures in Yunnan and was established in July 23, 1953.

Dehong, located in the western part of Yunnan Province and south of the Gaoligong Mountain, is part of the western Canyon. It is situated at East Longitude 97 ° 31 '~ 98 ° 43', and between North Latitude 23 ° 50 '~ 25 ° 20'. With its eastern and northeastern areas next to Longling County and Tengchong County of Baoshan, Dehong faces Myanmar in the south, west and the northwest borders.

　　Apart from Lianghe County, all the other counties of Dehong are on the borderline, which makes Dehong’s frontier line 503.8 km long. The whole prefecture has the majority of villages adjacent to Myanmar. In 2005, Dehong had a total population of 1,070,000 and a total area of 11,526 square kilometers. The east-west horizontal distance is 122 km, and the north-south longitudinal distance is 170 km.

　　The Ruilijiang River-Yingjiang River National Scenic Area covers almost the whole territory of Dehong. With high terrain in the North and low in the South, Dehong’s general elevation is 800 ~ 2000 meters, with the highest elevation point of 3404.6 meters in Daniangshan Mountain (Granny Hill), and the lowest elevation point of 210 meters in the Nabang Valley.

　　Dehong’s capital is Mangshi of Luxi City. In 2005, Mangshi had an urban construction area of 17 square kilometers (urban planning area 25 square meters), and an urban population of 105,000. Mangshi is 649 km away from the provincial capital of Kunming, and 427 km by air. (Translated by Zhu Qisai)