Mile City
Mile is a county-level city located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It is named after the Maitreya Buddha, for which there was a temple located on a nearby mountain, making it the only city in China named after a Buddha. It is a center for sugar and tobacco production in Yunnan.
History
Mile has been known since at least 116 BC in written history. In 1290 it was established as a prefecture and in 1770 as a county.It is the birthplace of Ming dynasty politician Yang Shengwu, Qing dynasty merchant Wang Chi and Republic era general Zhang Chong and mathematician Xiong Qinglai.
In 2014, Mile County was upgraded as a county level city.
Geography
Mile City is located in the north of Honghe Prefecture in southeastern Yunnan. It borders Luxi County, Yunnan and Qiubei County to the east, Jianshui County and Huaning County to the west, Kaiyuan, Yunnan to the south, and Yiliang County, Kunming and Shilin County to the north.Administrative divisions
At present, Mile City has 10 towns and 2 townships.;10 towns
- Miyang
- Xinshao
- Hongxi
- Zhuyuan
- Pengpu
- Xunjiansi
- Xiyi
- Xier
- Xisan
- Dongshan
- Wushan
- Jiangbian
Demographics
Ethnic groups
The Mile County Gazetteer 弥勒县志 reports the following Yi subgroups.- Axi 阿细
- Azhe 阿哲: in Wushan 五山, Xunjian 巡检, and Jianbian 江边 districts
- Awu 阿乌: 8,710 persons as of 1984
- Black Yi 黑彝: in Wushan 五山, Xishan 西山, and Dongshan 东山 districts
- *Large Black Yi 大黑彝 subgroup
- *Small Black Yi 小黑彝 subgroup
- Sani 撒尼
- White Yi 白彝
- *Nasubo 纳苏波 subgroup: in Dongshan 东山 and Xinshao 新哨 districts
- *White Yi 白彝 subgroup: in Xier District 西二区
- Gebo 葛波