Part of the area was controlled by the Tibetan Kingdom of Powo when streams of Tibetan pilgrims searching for one of the 'hidden lands' or beyul (Standard Tibetan: sbas-yul) referred to in the prophecies of Guru Rinpoche in the East Himalayas from the mid-seventeenth century came south over the Doshong La pass, to seek the particular location of one of these earthly paradises called Padma bkod (written variously Pema köd, Pemakö and Pemako), literally 'Lotus Array' in the region.

The region became administered by British India with the Simla Accord of 1914 and the demarcation of the McMahon Line, though China considers it part of South Tibet.

[10]Administrative circles include Yingkiong, Jengging, Mariyang, Geku, Katan, Mopom, Tuting, Gelling, Singa, Palling, Migging.

[16] At the time of the 2011 census, 72.01% of the population spoke Adi, 6.54% Bhotia, 4.44% Nepali, 3.93% Hindi, 1.91% Odia, 1.78% Assamese, 1.42% Bengali and 1.25% Bhojpuri as their first language.

[17] In 1986 Upper Siang district became home to Mouling National Park, which has an area of 483 km2 (186.5 sq mi).