Mangshi

Mangshi (Template:Lang-zh; Template:Langx; Jingpho: ), former name Luxi (Template:Lang-zh), is a county-level city and the seat of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in western Yunnan province, China. Mangshi has an area of , with an urban area of . Han Chinese, Dai people (Tai Nuea branch) and Jingpo people (Zaiwa branch) are the major ethnic groups. Luxi County was founded in 1949, and became a county-level city in 1996.

Etymology

File:“芒市”城市门牌石.jpg

A stone with "芒市" script on the north entry roundabout of the city

Mangshi was originally called Luxi (Template:Linktext). The name "Luxi" originated in 1934 when the central government of Republic of China established the direct ruled government Luxi Administrative Bureau (). The name means "west of the Lu River," referring to "Lujiang" (), another name for the Nujiang (Salween) River.Template:Sfn

The name "Mangshi" evolved from the ancient tribal name Mangshi (),Template:Sfn which was used to refer to the ancestors of the De'ang people.Template:Sfn The earliest known use of "Mangshi" as a place name appeared in 1443, in the tusi chiefdom title Mangshi Yuyi Zhangguansi ().

Due to Mangshi's strategic importance as a stronghold in the China Burma India theater during World War II, and as the site where the Prime Ministers of China and Myanmar hosted the 1956 Template:Ill, the name "Mangshi" became far more widely recognized than "Luxi". Additionally, major local landmarks were commonly named using "Mangshi" rather than "Luxi", such as Template:Ill, Mangshi Airport, Mangshi Conference Hall, and Mangshi Square. As a result, many visiting merchants and travelers were familiar with "Mangshi" but not "Luxi". The limited recognition of the "Luxi" name hindered the city's development. In 2008, a public opinion survey in Luxi showed that among 4,751 respondents, 96.96% supported restoring the historical name "Mangshi". On July 12, 2010, the State Council of China approved the renaming of Luxi to Mangshi, and on December 29 of the same year, an official renaming ceremony was held at Mangshi Conference Hall.Template:Sfn

Mangshi is the only county-level city in China with a two-character name where the second character (Template:Linktext, shì, meaning "city") serves both as a proper noun and as a political division suffix.

In the Tai Nuea language, Mangshi is called Muang KhonTemplate:Sfn (ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥩᥢᥴ, IPA: ), written in Chinese as "Template:Linktext", meaning "City of Dawn."Template:Sfn

The standard English transliteration of the city's name is "Mangshi" based on Hanyu Pinyin. Sometimes, the Wade-Giles romanization "Mangshih" is also used.

History

Prehistory–14th century

File:德宏州博物馆-东汉-网格纹乳钉纹铜钺.jpg

Eastern Han period Longjiang-type asymmetrical bronze axe collected in Template:Ill, which unearthed from Wuchalu Township, Mangshi

In the late Neolithic period, human activity had already emerged within the Mangshi region. Archaeological sites from this period have been discovered in villages such as Mangbing () and Huangjiazhai () in Zhongshan Township, which modern research identifies as part of the prehistoric culture of the ancestors of the De'ang people.Template:Sfn

During the Bronze Age, the Mangshi area successively fell under the domains of the Template:Ill ()Template:Sfn and the Template:Ill.Template:Sfn In 69 AD, Liu Mao (), the king of Ailao, led 77 tribal chieftains to pledge allegiance to the Han court. In response, the Han Dynasty established Yongchang Commandery in the former Ailao territory,Template:Sfn with Mangshi falling under the jurisdiction of Template:Ill within the commandery.Template:Sfn The Shu-Han regime maintained this administrative structure during the Three Kingdoms period. In 271 AD, it was reassigned to Template:Ill.Template:Sfn In the Tang Dynasty, the Mangshi area was inhabited by the Template:Ill tribes, and the tribe name "Mangshi" () first appeared in historical records.Template:Sfn

茫蛮部落，并是开南杂种也……又有大赕、茫昌、茫盛恐、茫鲊、茫施，皆其类也。
The Mangman tribe is also a mixed group of Kainan... Additionally, there are the Dadan, Mangchang, Mangshengkong, Mangzha, and Mangshi tribes, all of which belong to the same category.

— Template:Comma separated entries

In the early 7th century, Mangshi was known as "Xieluo City" () and was under the jurisdiction of Yongchang Jiedu (Military Command, ) during the Nanzhao period.Template:Sfn In the Dali Kingdom, it was called "Numou" () and belonged to Yongchang Prefecture ().Template:Sfn After the Yuan Dynasty conquered the Dali Kingdom, the Template:Ill was established in 1261, with Mangshi under its administration.Template:Sfn In 1271, the Pacification Commission was divided into different Circuits, and Mangshi fell under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Circuit Appeasement Commission (), which renamed the Template:Ill Appeasement Commission () in 1275.Template:Sfn In 1276, it was separated from Zhenkang Circuit, and Template:Ill () was established under the Pacification Commission’s jurisdiction,Template:Sfn marking the formal beginning of Mangshi’s administrative status.Template:Sfn

At the same time the Yuan Dynasty established Mangshi Circuit, it also set up Template:Ill in what is now Ruili City, which the Dai/Shan people refer the regime as Möng Mao. During the First Yuan-Burma War, Luchuan Circuit served as an important frontline base for the Yuan army, and the Yuan Dynasty exerted strong military control and political rule over Luchuan during the conflict.Template:Sfn In 1302, after the Yuan Dynasty abandoned its campaign against Myanmar, the military and administrative officials withdrew to the inland, and thereafter, Luchuan's influence began to expand on a large scale.Template:Sfn The Mangshi region was actually under the administration of the local power in Luchuan, and by the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it had effectively become independented from the central government.Template:Sfn The battlefield of the Battle of Ngasaunggyan within First Yuan-Burma War may have been located along the banks of the Mangshi River in the Mangshi area.Template:Sfn

14th century–1911

Ming dynasty

File:芒市土司衙门正门.jpg

Headquarter of Mangshi Tusi Chiefdom, 1935

After the Ming Dynasty entered Yunnan, the administrative system announced in 1382 included Template:Ill (). However, it did not recognize Luchuan’s expansion or its control over Mangshi, instead classifying Luchuan as just one of many prefectures and circuits in western Yunnan.Template:Sfn This decision led to dissatisfaction in Luchuan, which soon went to war with the Ming central court before eventually surrendering.Template:Sfn In 1399, after the death of Template:Ill, the Ming Dynasty initiated split Luchuan’s territory, dismantling Luchuan’s control and establishing multiple Tusi regimes.Template:Sfn Mangshi, located near Luchuan’s core region, remained under Luchuan’s control during this time. Under Template:Ill’s rule, Luchuan once again expanded outward, prompting the Ming court to launch a military campaign against it, known in history as the "Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns".Template:Sfn

In 1443, Template:Ill attacked Fangge (), a former Luchuan chief who had aligned with the Ming Dynasty and was the leader of Mangshi. Si Jifa was defeated by the Ming army, and in response, the Ming court established the Mangshi Yuyi Zhangguansi (Template:Literal translation, ), placing it under the jurisdiction of the Template:Ill. Later, it was directly administered by the Yunnan Province.Template:Sfn

Following the Template:Ill, the Ming court split the original Longchuan Tusi Chiefdom territory and established the Template:Ill () in 1584, headquartered in present-day Zhefang.Template:Sfn In 1640, the Mangshi Yuyi Zhangguansi (upper-6th level) was upgraded to the Mangshi Appeasement Commission (lower-5th level, ).Template:Sfn

Qing dynasty

File:日军侵略中被战火毁坏的遮放土司署.png

Headquarter of Zhefang Tusi Chiefdom destroyed by World War II

In 1656, the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming entered Yunnan and appealed to the Tusi chiefdoms to resist the Qing forces.Template:Sfn Qing troops entered western Yunnan in 1658, and the Ganya Tusi of Yingjiang County led his forces to resist the Qing and assisted Emperor Yongli in fleeing to Burma, but his entire army was destroyed.Template:Sfn In 1659, the Tusi chiefdoms of Dehong included Mangshi submitted to the Qing Dynasty,Template:Sfn the new court retained their original positions,Template:Sfn and were placed under the jurisdiction of Template:Ill.Template:Sfn

After Hsinbyushin succeeded as the king of the Konbaung Dynasty, Burma, he launched several raids into Yunnan. The Qing–Burmese War broke out, and in 1764, the Viceroy of Yun-Gui set up military checkpoints at Santai Mountain () in Mangshi and at Mangkanqing () in Zhefang, deploying troops for defense.Template:Sfn In 1766, the Burmese army occupied Hsenwi State and Wanmaw State. The viceroy sent Wu-Er-Den () with 3,000 troops to Zhefang, while viceroy Mingrui personally led 10,000 troops to meet E'erdeng'e () in Hsenwi via Mangshi.Template:Sfn By 1769, the conflict had ended, and Mangshi remained a key Qing military base, supplying over 30,000 Qing troops with a large amount of military provisions.Template:Sfn

In 1770, Template:Ill was established, and both Mangshi and Zhefang were transferred under its administration from Yongchang Prefecture.Template:Sfn In 1899, the Sino-British boundary demarcation of the Yunnan-Myanmar border resulted in the return of the Mengban region, which had been annexed by Hsenwi during the early Qing period. Due to its strategic importance, the Template:Ill was established to oversee the area.Template:Sfn

1911–1949

In the Republic of China period, the Yunnan government appointed two "suppression commissars" () to Mangban () and Zhemao () within the Mangshi area in 1913. Mangban suppression commissar administered Mangshi Anfusi and Mengban Tuqianzong territories, and Zhemao suppression commissar administered Zhefang Xuanfusi and Mengmao Anfusi (, in Ruili) territories. The two suppression commissars were replaced by an administrative commissar () in 1915, and a district named Mangzheban Administrative District () was established. At the same time, Mengmao Anfusi was separated from the district, thus forming the boundaries of modern Mangshi. As a transition before formally establishing a county, Yunnan government set a Shezhiju (, similar to a governing council) in Mangshi area named Mangzheban Shezhiju () replacing Mangzheban District in 1929. The Administrative Bureau is a quasi-county level administrative division. Mengga is the seat of the bureau. It changed the name to Luxi Shezhiju () in 1934. The Imperial Japanese Army occupied Luxi on 4May 1942 and retreated on 11 December 1944 when Counterattack of Western Yunnan started. In 1949, Luxi Administrative Bureau finally became Luxi County (), with the seat of county government at the town of Mangshi, and the first county magistrate was the acting Tusi Fang Kesheng (). The Tusi system and the central bureaucracy still coexisted.Template:Rp

1949–present

Fang Kesheng refused to join People's Republic of China, preferring to remain neutral. Eventually the People's Liberation Army advanced into Luxi in April 1950, and Fang Kesheng fled to Taiwan. His brother Fang Keguang succeeded be the acting tusi, and cooperated with the Chinese Communist Party. The three tusi were killed during the land reform movement in 1955.Template:Rp Luxi County became Luxi City (county-level city) in 1996, and changed the name to Mangshi City in 2010.Template:Rp

Geography

File:芒市河03.jpg

Mangshi River

Mangshi has an area of . There are two main plains in Mangshi named Mangshi Ba () and Zhefang Ba (). The city of Mangshi is situated at the east of Mangshi Ba. Mountains are the primary landforms of Mangshi, making up approximately 84.48% of the territory. Mount Qingkou () is the city's highest point, with an altitude of 2,889.1 meters. Manxin River's () estuary (at Salween River) is the lowest point, with an altitude of 528 metres in Zhongshan Township.Template:Rp The mountains are branches of western Gaoligong Mountains.Template:Rp

Mangshi River is the "mother river" of Mangshi, and has a drainage basin of ,Template:Rp about 61.3% of area of Mangshi. Longchuan River () is the border river between Mangshi and Lianghe County and Longchuan County on the north and west. Salween River on the southeast tip of Mangshi marks the international border between Mangshi and Myanmar's Shan State.Template:RpTemplate:Rp

Administrative divisions

Mangshi currently comprises 12 administrative township-level subdivisions including one subdistrict, five towns and six townships.

Name	Name in Chinese	Code	Founded Template:Rp	Area (km2) Template:Rp	Population 2010 Census	Density
Menghuan Subdistrict		533103001	2008	23.15	99,970	4318.36
Mangshi Town		533103101	1936	349.5	46,353	132.63
Zhefang Town		533103102	1936	422	51,477	121.98
Mengga Town		533103103	1936	389	24,344	62.58
Manghai Town		533103104	1988	105	5,641	53.72
Fengping Town		533103105	1998	381	69,586	182.64
Xuangang Township		533103201	1936	163.7	21,501	131.34
Jiangdong Township		533103202	1988	220.8	25,240	114.31
Xishan Township		533103203	1988	257	12,296	47.84
Zhongshan Township		533103204	1988	278	10,170	36.58
Santaishan Palaung Ethnic Township		533103205	1988	158	7,068	44.73
Wuchalu Township		533103206	1988	202	16,245	80.42

Economy

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China Construction Bank Dehong branch company in north of city

File:芒海镇-农田06.jpg

Paddy field close town of Manghai

As of 2016, Mangshi's nominal GDP was CN¥ 9.628 billion, about 0.65% of the province's GDP, ranking 44th among county-level administrative units in Yunnan; its nominal GDP per capita was CN¥ 23,307, 66th in the province, lower than Yunnan average (CN¥ 30,949).Template:Rp

In 1958, Yunnan government regulated trade in border areas, and the town of Mangshi was excluded from the zone of border trade.Template:Rp In 1980, province government opened Manghai (), Mangbing () and Xiaogai () as border trade markets.Template:Rp After Hu Yaobang, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party inspected Dehong prefecture in 1985, Mangshi abolished all border checkpoints, and made the whole territory a border trade zone.Template:Rp The border trade and other tertiary sectors was prosperous in the 1990s. The proportion of three industrial sectors in 1978 was 65.6 : 16.3 : 18.1,Template:Rp and in 2016, 23.2 : 20.5 : 56.3.Template:Rp

Asian rice, sugarcane, tea, coffee, macadamia nut and fruits (banana, pineapple, mango, jackfruit etc.) are the main agricultural products of Mangshi, especially coffee. Mangshi has 19,056 ha. of paddy field, 9,165 ha. of sugarcane field, 7,504 ha. of macadamia forest, 5,870 ha. of coffee field and 5,469 ha. of fruit field in 2018. Asian Coffee Association was established at Mangshi in 2017. 13 countries are members of the association. Hogood Coffee is the largest domestic instant coffee producer in China, and the 10th largest civilian-run enterprise of Yunnan.

Population

In 2016, Mangshi had a total population of 415,700 over the whole county-level city,Template:Rp of which 171.2 thousand resided in the city core, the subdistrict of Menghuan.

According to the 2010 census, Mangshi has 204,083 Han citizens, 52.34% of total population. Other main ethnicities are Dai and Jingpo, which has a population with 132,421 and 29,208.Template:Rp Mangshi has the largest number of Palaung people in any county-level subdivision of China, with a population of 9,986,Template:Rp which mainly live in Santaishan Palaung Ethnic Township.Template:Rp

Historically, Dai people lived in the plains.Template:Rp Jingpo people immigrated to the mountains from the Tibetan Plateau in the 16th century.Template:Rp Han Chinese became the majority because of the Ming conquest of Yunnan and several Sino-Burmese wars, and the subsequent stationing of Chinese army in the area.Template:Rp

Culture

File:五云寺 - 正殿 - 2023-07-30.jpg

Wuyun Temple () is the first temple of Mangshi which built in 1665.Template:Rp

File:弄丘村目脑纵歌场01.jpg

A Manau place in Nongqiu Village (), Zhefang.

Dai people in Mangshi speak Tai Nuea language,Template:Rp while Jingpo people speak Zaiwa and Jingpho. Zaiwa is the most populous branch of Jingpo in Mangshi.Template:Rp

Almost all the Dai and Palaung people follows Theravada Buddhism. Many villages have their own Buddhist temple,Template:Rp called "Zhuangfang" (Template:Linktext) or "Miansi" (Template:Lang-zh). They are the center for religion activities and education, and also the entertainment venues for villagers.Template:Rp Expenditure of the temple and the monk life costs are paid by the villagers. An average Dai farmer spends one-fifth of his annual income for religion-related activities in 1988.Template:Rp In Jingpo folk religion, various gods as well as ancestral spirits are worshipped.Template:Rp

Water-Sprinkling Festival (in Thailand called "Songkran") and Manau are the grandest festivals of the Dai and Jingpo. They are both statutory holidays in Dehong Prefecture. The 15,000-capacity Dehong Stadium, a football stadium, is also used for cultural events.

Transport

File:G320国道芒市段01.jpg

G320 Highway in Mangshi

Tusi Fang Keming () of Mangshi and Duo Jianxun () of Zhefang built a road linking Mangshi and Wanding in 1926. An Indian engineer was invited to design the route. The road was completed in 1931, and became a part of the Burma Road in 1937.Template:Rp In modern China National Highways network, this road is part of G320 Highway.Template:Rp Longling-Ruili Expressway opened on 31 December 2015, and is the first expressway of Mangshi. It forms part of G56 Hangzhou–Ruili Expressway and AH14. A provincial highway, Mangshi-Lianghe Expressway is currently under construction. Another provincial expressway, Ruili-Menglian Expressway, is planned.

Although Mangshi has a 68.23 km-long borderline with Myanmar, it has no national port of entry. There are three border crossing without customs control into Myanmar serving the locals. They are Manghai (), Zhongshan () and Bangda ().Template:Rp Manghai links Mong Ko in Myanmar, also known as Monekoe.

Dali–Ruili railway is under construction, with two stations in Mangshi: Mangshi and Mangshi West.

Dehong Mangshi International Airport is the only airport in Dehong Prefecture. It saw 1,652,533 passengers and 13,982 flights in 2017.

Society

Dehong Sports Center is located on the west of Mangshi, with a 21,000-capacity stadium, a 3,200-capacity basketball gym, a 2,150-capacity aquatics center, a 6-courts tennis gym and other outdoor sports fields. The sports center was built in 2008, and has a building area of 36,813.49m².

Dehong People's Hospital is a Tertiary B-level hospital established in 1954 in southeast of Mangshi.Template:Rp It has 1,200 beds and the service area covered up Dehong, Longling, Tengchong and part of Myanmar.

Dehong Teachers' College () is the main higher education college of Dehong, established in 2006.Template:Rp It is a technical college but under the working for upgrade to an undergraduate education university. Many Burmese students are studying abroad in the college.

Dehong's media is multilingual, reflecting its diverse ethnic makeup. Dehong TV Station was established in 1991, with programs in Chinese, Tai Nuea, Jingpho and Zaiwa. Dehong TV Station is the only TV station that uses four languages in China.Template:Rp Dehong Unity News () is the official newspaper of Dehong Prefecture Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The newspaper using five languages: Chinese, Tai Nuea, Jingpho, Zaiwa and Lisu. It is the only newspaper that uses five languages in China.Template:Rp Pauk-Phaw, the first Burmese newspaper of China, was founded in Mangshi in 2015 and is published by Dehong Unity Newspaper office. It serves the 50,000 Burmese who live in China.

Tourism

File:芒市树包塔 - 整体 - 2024-10-18.jpg

Tiecheng Pagoda

File:勐巴娜西珍奇园-正门.jpg

Mengbanaxi Exotics Garden

3.3 million tourists visited Mangshi in 2015, and generated a tourism income of CN¥ 5.09 billion for the city. Puti Temple, Wuyun Temple and Foguang Temple are well known Buddhist temples in Mangshi.Template:Rp Tiecheng Pagoda, Fengping Pagoda and Menghuan Pagoda are well known Buddhist pagodas.Template:Rp Tiecheng Pagoda, also known as "Shubao Pagoda" (Template:Lang-zh), was built in Qianlong era, Qing dynasty. A seed fell in the crack of the pagoda about 200 years ago, and now, the pagoda is wrapped by the bodhi tree.Template:RpTemplate:Rp Mengbanaxi Exotics Garden, a garden for valuable ancient trees and tree fossils, is the only AAAA state-level tourist destination of Mangshi.

Friendly cities

Mangshi currently maintains friendship agreements with the following foreign

• Template:Flagdeco Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

See also

• List of administrative divisions of Yunnan