Simao District (; formerly known as Cuiyun District) is a district under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, China. It is the seat of Pu'er Prefecture. Formerly both Simao and the surrounding region of Pu'er prefecture played a major role in the historic Tea Horse Road trade between Yunnan, Tibet and India, with Simao acting as the southern terminus or starting point for the transport of tea by mule caravan north to Dali, Lijiang and Lhasa. Tea remains a central crop and product of the region.
Simao District is located in the south-central part of Pu'er City in southern Yunnan and borders Jiangcheng County to the east, Lancang County and Jinggu County to the west, Jinghong and Menghai County to the south and Ning'er County to the north.
Simao District has 1 subdistrict, 4 towns and 2 ethnic townships.
Simao District is ethnically diverse, with Han, Yi, Dai, Hani, Bulang, Wa, Lahu, and other ethnic groups.
Han Chinese live mostly in Simaoba æÂÂè åÂÂ, Yixiangba Ã¥ÂÂ象åÂÂ, and Laojuntian èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç° (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:477). They numbered 105,133 people as of 1990, making more up than 75% of the population.
The Yi people of Gaojiazhai é«Â家寨 and Manxieba æÂ¼æÂÂå in Simaoba æÂÂè å speak the Southern Yi dialect (Ã¥ÂÂé¨æÂ¹è¨Â), while the Yi of other areas speak the Western Yi dialect of Weishan County () (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:478). They numbered 17,459 people as of 1990. Ethnic Yi townships in Simao district are Longtan é¾Âæ½Âå½ÂæÂÂ壿ÂÂ乡 and Yunxian äºÂä»Âå½ÂæÂÂ乡 townships. Some of the Yi in Simao are also known as Xiangtang é¦Âå Â.
The Dai people live in various villages on both sides of the Dazhong 大ä¸Âæ²³, Jiufang é ÂæÂ¿æ²³, and Xiaohejiang å°Âé»Âæ± rivers, namely Mangdie èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ, Mangyao èÂÂè °, Mangpan èÂÂçÂÂ, Qianluo è¿Âæ´Â, Jiufang é ÂæÂ¿, Longtan é¾Âæ½Âå½ÂæÂÂ壿ÂÂ乡, Zhengwan æÂ´ç¢Â, Mamu éªÂæÂ¨, Bangnong èÂÂå¼Â, Boluo è èÂÂ, and other villages (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:478). They numbered 4,142 people as of 1990.
The Hani people live in (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:478). They numbered 3,722 people as of 1990. Some migrated from Tongxin Ã¥ÂÂå¿ and Mengxian Ã¥ÂÂå  of Pu'er County æÂ®æ´±å¿ (now renamed as Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County) during the Republic of China era, while others migrated in 1971 from Lianhe èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ, Xin'an æÂ°å®Â, Xinfu æÂ°æÂÂ, and Baliu Ã¥ÂÂ溠townships of Mojiang County 墨æ±Âå¿. Subgroups include Biyue 碧约, Budu å¸Âé½, Kaduo å¡å Â, Ximoluo 西æÂ©æ´Â, and Bukong å¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂ.
In Simao District, the Bulang people (population 272 as of 1990) live near the junction of the Xiaohei River å°Âé»Âæ± and Lancang River æ¾Âæ²§æ±Â, in the villages of Guanzhai å®Â寨, Tuanliangzi 墿¢ÂÃ¥ÂÂ, Mangbang èÂÂèÂÂ, Mangba èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ, etc., in a total of six villages (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:480).
The Wa people live alongside Bulang people and Dai people in Mangba èÂÂå and Tuanliangzi 墿¢Âå (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:482). They numbered 1,627 people as of 1990.
The Lahu people live in Nanping Township () and Yixiang Township () (in Nalitian , Yongqing Village ()) (Simao Prefecture Almanac 1993:482). They numbered 1,265 people as of 1990.
Simao Airport (IATA: SYM, ICAO: ZPSM).