In the history book Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian during the Han dynasty, a paragraph in volume 123 describes Dianyue as when Zhang Qian visited Daxia in Central Asia, he found some merchandise that was produced in Sichuan.

[6]: 37 Chinese historians generally said Tengyue was the center of Dianyue Chengxiang, and the territory included the Dehong area.

[10] Ai Lao (哀牢) was an ancient tribal alliance country in the west of Yunnan from the Spring and Autumn to the Eastern Han periods, and modern historians say the area included Dehong.

In Chronicles of Huayang, the record of Ailao mentions its territory "3,000 li from west to east, and 4,600 li from south to north",[11] approximately equal to 1,300 km west to east and 1,994 km south to north in modern units.

[12] It includes the southwest of Yunnan and most of Myanmar, and in modern research, it is called the generalized area of Ailao.

[12] Baoshan historian Xiao Zhengwei believes the kingdom of Dianyue was a powerful tribe under Ailao.

[17]: 28–29 In 1995, Dehong historian Yang Yongsheng published research on the ancient Dai civilization.

[21]: 115 In 1253, Kublai Khan conquered the Dali Kingdom, and the Dehong Dai people capitulated to the Mongol Empire.

The Mongols set up an administrative division called "Jinchi Anfu Si" (金齿安抚司) to manage the west of Yunnan.

In addition, the special divisions named "Nan Dan" (南赕) and Nandian Fu (南甸府, modern Lianghe) were established.

[4]: 11 In 1277, Narathihapate, the king of the Burmese Pagan Kingdom, invaded the modern Dehong area.

[23]: 26–27 During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Dehong Dai people immigrated to modern Assam in India and built up the kingdom of Ahom.

[25] Si Kefa enthroned the chieftain of Luchuan Lu in 1340[26] and sent troops to the surrounding states such Hsenwi, Mongyang, and Mongmit.

The Yuan central government admitted his local regime and canonized Si Kefa to be the first Mong Mao Tusi.

[16]: 9–10 In 1382, the Ming dynasty military arrived at the Mong Mao Tusi and Si Lunfa surrendered.

In order to maintain the relationship with Ming, Si Lunfa sent a mission to Kunming to make peace.

[16]: 11–13  During Si Xingfa's rule in the 1410s, the Mong Mao territory decreased to include only modern Ruili, Mangshi, and Namhkam.

[16]: 13–16 After the Mong Mao kingdom declined, the Chinese central government gained efficient control in the Dehong area.

[34] In 1658, the last emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty, Zhu Youlang, passed the Nandian and Ganya Tusi and fled to Myanmar.

[4]: 19–21 In 1875, a British translator, Augustus Raymond Margary, and his four personal staff members were murdered in the west of Yingjiang County.

[4]: 23  Under this agreement, the British government leased the "Namwan Assigned Tract" in the southwest of Dehong with the rent of 1,000 Rupees a year.

The administrative bureaus after 1932 included Luxi, Ruili, Longchuan, Yingjiang, Lianshan, and Lianghe — they were the predecessors of future counties.

By 1938, the Burma Road was built, and it was an important international transit channel after the Japanese army blocked the eastern coast of China.

This was during the "Great Leap Forward" when a biologist working for Mao Zedong wrote an article about the weather in Yunnan being very suitable for bananas to be planted.

Hogood contracts farm land from smallholders on which it plants seedlings, and then re-contracts with farmers to purchase the coffee beans at harvest.