Yunnanyi Town

As the earliest place named “Yunnan”　(the place to the south of the 
colorful cloud), Yunnanyi is the former site of “Yunnan County” of 
the West Han Dynasty and “Yunnan Prefecture” of the Wei and Jin 
Dynasties. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yizhan (remount or
 post stations) were set up here, so it is named “Yunnan Yi”. Due 
to its significant geographic location, Yunnanyi used to be contested
 in warfare because it can connect Dali, Chengdu, Kunming, South and
 West Yunnan. A time-honored ancient passage stretches through the 
small town with well-conserved traditional residences of the Bai
 ethnic minority.

In the 1940s, the Yunnan-Myanmar Road, the Hump Flight, and Sino-Indian 
Petrol Pipe converged with the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, making Yunnanyi 
a place of great interest and a vital base for the Alliance to fight 
against the Japanese in the Orient.   

In Yunnanyi, there are two museums, namely the Horse Caravan Museum and
 the Museum for Transportation in the World War II. Besides, fighters 
of the Flying Tigers and the former aircraft shelters (in the farmland)
 are also special.