Nayun Ancient City was built in 1829, and currently covers some
36 hectares of land. It consists of 3 main blocks and 2 subblocks.
Most importantly, the formal government building of the city has
been perfectly preserved, which provides precious information for
historical and political researches. It is even said that Nayun is
a live evidence of the system of appointing ethnic-minority
hereditary headmen in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Though the former government building in Nayun Ancient City has
been under state-level protection, the local government has not
been able to provide it with proper protective measures. "We don't
even have fire fighting devices in the ancient city," said Zhang
Haizhen, a researcher from the local museum.
The ancient city receives some 30,000 visitors every year, which
is beyond its capacity. If protection still remains insufficient,
it will be a matter of time for it to be go out of existence, which
will be a disaster to the passing on of the history and culture of
the Dai people.
(China News Service February 27, 2007)