At No. 111 Fuxing Road, the high stone-and-brick defensive walls of Dali's "Forbidden City" hold centuries of shifting power. This compound, covering 16,133.54 square meters, began as a Ming Dynasty administrative office before becoming the Yunnan Provincial Commander's Office in 1663. For over two centuries, fifty provincial commanders directed campaigns from this seat of imperial authority.

In September 1856, the atmosphere changed. A multi-ethnic coalition captured the city, and their leader, Du Wenxiu, became the Presidential Grand Marshal. He rebuilt the complex, hanging a blue-and-gold wooden plaque above the main gate and establishing a rebel capital that endured for eighteen years. Inside, he drafted strict military codes in his private study, while guards patrolled the battlements. When the uprising faced defeat in 1872, Du Wenxiu drank peacock gall poison, sacrificing his life to spare the local population from slaughter. The victorious Qing commander, Yang Yuke, reclaimed the compound, restoring its imperial military function.

The site continued to witness history. It served as a Republican-era military headquarters and later housed the PLA's Dian-Gui-Qian Border Column in December 1949. In 1986, the military transferred the property to the local government, which opened the Dali City Museum here.

Today, visitors walk past the main gate's single-eave gable-and-hip roof and through a reconstructed middle gate. This gate features a traditional screen wall built with cold, heavy local stone, showcasing regional stonemasonry. In the southern flower hall, the largest stone stele forest in southwest China preserves over two hundred historical inscriptions. Visitors can touch the rough chisel marks on these monuments, including the Shanhua Stele. Written by the scholar Yang Fu, this tablet represents the earliest surviving writing of the native Bai language using Chinese characters. These stones preserve the voices of a complex past.