Stone Tablet in Memory of Kublai Khan's Conquest of Yunnan

The tablet is situated at the site of the Third Month Fair near the foot of Zhonghe Peak of Cangshan, west of Dali. It was erected in the 8th year (1304) of the Dade era of the Yuan Dynasty. The tablet is formed by two pieces of rock, 4.44 metres high and 1.65 metres wide. More than 1,300 characters were carved, and the characters are still legible today. The title of the tablet consisting of eight Chinese seal characters (meaning the tablet commemorating Kublai Khan's conquest of Yunnan) were carved horizontally on the upper part of the tablet. The inscriptions vividly describe the expedition led by Emperor Kublai Mian in the second year (1252) of the Xianzong era of the Yuan Dynasty. It records the deeds, the expedition routes and how Dali Kingdom was conquered and Yunnan province established. It is a very important source material for the study of the politics, the military affairs and the history of Yunnan in the early days of the Yuan Dynasty.