Simao District (Chinese: 思茅区; pinyin: Sīmáo Qū; formerly known as Cuiyun District) is a district under the jurisdiction of Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. It is the seat of Puer Prefecture. Formerly both Simao and the surrounding region of Pu'er prefecture played a major role in the historic tea horse 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. In 2007, the city of Simao (思茅市) changed its name to Puer city (普洱市).