Mengzi (Chinese:蒙自;pinyin:Méngzì;Hani:Maoqziif Siif) is a city in the southeast ofYunnan Province, China.^[2] Administratively, it is acounty-level city and the prefectural capital of theHonghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, located about 243 kilometres (151 mi) southeast fromKunming, and 400 kilometres northwest fromHanoi,Vietnam.^[3] It is situated in the centre of a fertile valley basin on theYunnan-Guizhou Plateau^[2] 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) above the sea level and was home to about 590,300 inhabitants as of 2021 census.^[4] Mengzi was formerlyMengzi County (蒙自县) until October 2010, when it was upgraded to acounty-level city.^[5] Mengzi is the core area of South Yunnan Central City Cluster, which is officially regarded as the political, economic, cultural, and military centre of South Yunnan.

Mengzi 蒙自市 ·Maoqziif Siif
County-level city
South Lake Bisezhai Station Yingzhou Pavilion Xin'ansuo Ancient Buildings
Location of Mengzi City in Honghe Prefecture within Yunnan province
Mengzi Location in Yunnan Show map of Yunnan Mengzi Mengzi (China) Show map of China
Coordinates (Mengzi City government):23°23′46″N103°21′54″E / 23.3961°N 103.3649°E /23.3961; 103.3649
Country	China
Province	Yunnan
Autonomous prefecture	Honghe
Municipal seat	Guanlan Subdistrict
Area
• Total	2,172 km2 (839 sq mi)
Elevation	1,310 m (4,300 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[1]
• Total	585,976
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	661100
Area code	0873
Climate	Cwa
Website	www.hhmz.gov.cn

A widely accepted statement is that the name "Mengzi" (蒙自) was originated from Muze Mountain (now named as Lianhua Mountain) located in the west of Mengzi and now belongs toGejiu. InYi language, Muze Mountain means a towering mountain.^[6]

As with many other places in China, a variety of Romanized spellings were used for the name of Mengzi city in the past. The traditional French spelling wasMongtseu; thepostal,Mengtsz,Mengtzu orMongtze. Some works in English used the spellingMêng-tse^[7] orMengtsze.^[2]

The municipal seat is in Guanlan Subdistrict.

At present, Mengzi City has 5 subdistricts, 4 towns, 2 townships and 2 ethnic townships.^[8]

5 subdistricts

• Wenlan Subdistrict (文澜街道)
• Yuguopu Subdistrict (雨过铺街道)
• Guanlan Subdistrict (观澜街道)
• Wencui Subdistrict (文萃街道)
• Xin'ansuo Subdistrict (新安所街道)

4 towns

• Caoba (草坝镇)
• Zhicun (芷村镇)
• Mingjiu (鸣鹫镇)
• Lengquan (冷泉镇)

2 townships

• Shuitian Township (水田乡)
• Xibeilei Township (西北勒乡)

2 ethnic townships

• Qilu Bai and Miao Ethnic Township (期路白苗族乡)
• Laozhai Miao Ethnic Township (老寨苗族乡)

Located within 30arc minutes south of theTropic of Cancer, Mengzi, as with much of southern Yunnan, has a warmhumid subtropical climate (KöppenCwa), with muddled distinction between the seasons and daytime temperatures remaining warm year-round. Highs peak in May before the core of the rainy season and reach a minimum in December; however, the warmest and coolest months are June and December, respectively at 23.2 °C (73.8 °F) and 12.3 °C (54.1 °F); the annual mean is 18.65 °C (65.6 °F). June thru September accounts for over 60% of the annual rainfall of 857 mm (33.7 in) and during this time, some rainfall occurs on a majority of days, resulting in a marked reduction in sunshine. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in June and July to 64% in February, the city receives 2,161 hours of bright sunshine annually.

The Mengzi region is well known for a dish calledguoqiaomixian ("Over the Bridge Rice Noodle"), made with long rice-flour noodles.

The history of Mengzi can be traced back toWestern Han dynasty whenBengu County (贲古县) was founded (109 B.C.), which was currently the area ofXin'ansuo, Mengzi.

Not until in 1276 (Yuan dynasty), Mengzi county was formerly founded, which can be regarded as the prototype of the modern Mengzi City.

In 1886, following the war between France and the Qing China, a series of treaties designated Mengzi as a trade port in Yunnan province for the import and export of goods viaTonkin, currently the Northern Vietnam. Under the terms of these treaties, foreigners were allowed to reside and trade in Mengzi. Accordingly, the foreign-operated Imperial Maritime Customs Service established its office just outside the eastern city gate of Mengzi in 1899.^[14]

Communications were inconvenient: goods fromHanoi orHaiphong were shipped toHekou on the Vietnamese border by junk, transferred by small craft toManhao, and then taken 60 km (37 mi) by pack animal to Mengzi. Despite these difficulties, Mengzi was an important port of entry into bothYunnan and westernGuizhou provinces, and in 1889 it was opened to foreign trade as a treaty port. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, Mengzi was a major trading center for commerce between the interior of Yunnan and the Tonkin. Most of this foreign trade was in tin and opium. Its main exports were tin andopium, and the main imports were mostly textiles (primarilycotton) andtobacco.

As a trading center, the city gradually began to lose its importance beginning from the early 20th century. The importance of Mengzi was ended by the construction of theFrench railway fromHaiphong to Kunming (the Yunnan provincial capital) in 1906–10. This railway bypassed Mengzi, but in 1915 abranch line was built via the town to theGejiu tin mines. Apart from a brief respite during the early days ofWorld War II, the town of Mengzi has, nevertheless, steadily declined in importance ever since.

Gejiu became a county in 1913, and a city in 1951. With the improvement of communications and transportation between cities ofGejiu andKaiyuan and the other counties nearby, plus the development of trade between southwestern China and the countries of Southeast Asia, Mengzi's ties have increasingly strengthened with Gejiu and Kaiyuan. The whole area has become a border economic centre. In addition to tin, the county's natural resources include coal, manganese, lead, zinc, and antimony.

When the Japanese invadedBeijing andTianjin in the late 1930s, university professors, students, and administrators there were forced to leave and travel south toChangsha. Later as the Japanese pushed into Changsha, the academics made their own long march westward to Yunnan Province. There they established theSouthwest Associated Universities, also known as Lianda (Chinese:联大). The School of Arts and Law was located in Mengzi, but moved to the provincial capital ofKunming about half a year later.

In 2003,the prefectural government of Honghe [zh] moved from nearby Gejiu to Mengzi. New wealthy suburbs and large government offices have sprung up as a result, but much of the poverty remains, creating a largewealth gap within the city.

In 2012, 11-14 thousand year old early human bones fromMaludong near Mengzi City (some of them already in museum collections) were reported. These are provisionally known as theRed Deer Cave people.^[15]

Mengzi istwinned with:

•  Modesto,California, United States
•  Lao Cai,Lào Cai, Vietnam^[16]
•  Châteauroux,Indre, France^[17]

Mengzi used to be a medium-sized county town before the prefectural government reloacted there from theCity of Gejiu in 2003.^[18] Since then, the city has witnessed a rapid urban and economic expansion with significant infrastructure projects.^[18][19] In 2010, Mengzi was elevated to acity administratively.

Real estate industry is pivotal sector of the city's economy. Recent policy developments have promoted economic growth, leading to substantial changes in the local industry structure and employment landscape.^[20]

• The narrow-gaugeKunming–Hai Phong railway, in the mountains east of the city (passenger service discontinued), andits branches
• Yuxi–Mengzi railway^[21] (opened in 2013)
• Mengzi–Hekou railway (opened in December 2014); regular passenger service between Kunming and Hekou
• Mile–Mengzi high-speed railway (Honghe railway station) opened in December 2022

Honghe tram runs fromMengzi North railway station to the city center.

Honghe Mengzi Airport in Mengzi is under construction.^[22]

Mengzi is an ancient city in Yunnan, with a long history dating back thousands of years. It is home to numerous historic sites, though many of its splendid structures were damaged or destroyed primarily during theTaiping Rebellion^[2][23] and theCultural Revolution in 1960s. The following lists some of the prominent sites in the city.

• South Lake (Chinese:南湖): A naturally formed lake that was later expanded artificially, dating back to the lateMing dynasty.
• Yingzhou Pavilion (Chinese:瀛洲亭): A Chinese pavilion with a hexagonal structure located within South Lake Park, built in 1690.
• The Customs Relic: An area featuring clusters of European-style buildings, which primarily served as the Frenchconcession during the late 19th century.
• Bisezhai train station (Chinese:碧色寨站): A train station constructed by the French in the early 20th century. It was one of the most pivotal stations on theKunming–Haiphong railway line, an important communication route between Yunnan and Vietnam.
• Xin'ansuo Ancient Building Complex (Chinese:新安所古建筑群): A complex of ancient Chinese buildings in Xin'ansuo town of Mengzi, dating back to the 16th century. It is renowned for its unique and diverse architectural styles and ethnic customs, which reflect the town's distinctive geographical environment and historically significant military status.

• Mengzi City official website