During the Han Dynasty, the territory was vast. Just in the southwest, there were places like Hanzhong, Bajun, Guanghan, Shu County, Jianwei, Zangke, Yuexi, and Yongchang in Yizhou, as well as tributary states of Guanghan, Shu County, and Jianwei, among other areas.
Think about it: Hanzhong, Bajun, Guanghan, Shu County, Jianwei, Zangke, Yuexi, and Yongchang in Yizhou—these place names evoke a sense of being far away and sparsely populated. Adding a few tributary states, it feels even more remote and untamed, likely harder to reach than traveling to Tibet today.
These places are all closely linked, forming a continuous piece of the Han Dynasty's territory. However, these "tributary states" have a slightly different connotation; they were probably not directly governed, perhaps similar to vassal states or autonomous regions. They were required to pay tribute to the central court as a sign of allegiance, and the governance details were likely quite complicated. Anyway, the Han Dynasty's territory was incredibly expansive!
