Jinghong (; ; , , ; ; also formerly romanised as Chiang Hung, Chengrung, Cheng Hung, Jeng Hung, Jinghung, Keng Hung, Kiang Hung and Muangjinghung) is a city in and the seat of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in the far south of China's Yunnan province, and the historic capital of the former Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna. History The town was founded as Chiang Hung (Cheli), by Tai king Phanya Coeng in 1180. Kingdom of Chiang Hung (Sipsongpanna) During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China, the Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna began a close and long-lasting relationship to Lanna, another historic Tai kingdom that lay south. In 1296, Lanna's capital Chiang Mai was founded by Mangrai, whose maternal grandfather was King Rung Kaen Chai () of Jinghong (i.e.: Sipsongpanna). The kingdoms of Sipsongpanna and Lanna maintained ties through migration and intermarriage. In 1401, the Sipsongpanna Tai ruler Tau Se Da Xam (pinyin: Dao Xianda) attacked a smaller Tai area to the north unknown as Weiyuan equivalent to modern Jinggu). The Ming administration sought to retaliate but adopted a cautious response of diplomacy and Tau Se Da Xam withdrew his troops. About this period Sipsongpanna began to pay tribute to the Ming. In 1405 the Sipsongpanna Tai attacked Chiang Mai, in conjunction with Ming Chinese troops. In 1421 the Chinese attempted to cause a split in Sipsongpanna by backing multiple administrations during a period of civil strife, but their plan failed to succeed. 1448 saw the defeat of Mong Mao, a Tai state in eastern Burma, by a combination of Chinese, Sipsongpanna and allied forces united under the Ming. In the 1450s another struggle for succession arose in Sipsongpanna, with one faction backed by Kengtung and one by Chiang Mai. Despite the Kengtung faction's victory, conflict started with that state shortly afterwards. The Burmese Toungoo state arose in the 1530s to crush Chiang Mai, and its influence also extended to Kengtung and Sipsongpanna, which like other Tai kingdoms soon began to pay tribute. Geography and climate Jinghong has a latitude range of 21°27'–22°36' N and a longitude range of 100°25'–101°31' E. It borders Pu'er City to the north, Mengla County to the east and Menghai County to the west, as well as Burma's Shan State to the south. The city is limited to the south by Hengduan Mountains, and the Lancang River (Mekong) passes through Jinghong. Two bridges near the city span this