th , เชียงตุง , other_name = Kyaingtong , settlement_type = Town , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Myanmar , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location in Myanmar , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = District , subdivision_type3 = Township , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_name2 = Kengtung District , subdivision_name3 = Kengtung Township , subdivision_name4 = , established_title = , established_date = , leader_title = , leader_name = , area_total_km2 = 3,506 , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , elevation_ft = , population_total = 171,620 , population_as_of = 2014 , population_footnotes = , population_density_km2 = 48.955 , website = , footnotes = , timezone = MMT , utc_offset = +6.30 , official_name = , native_name_lang = shn, my , image_skyline = National Highway (NH4) pass through Kengtung.jpg Kengtung ( shn, ဝဵင်းၵဵင်းတုင် , th, เชียงตุง), also spelt Kyaingtong (; ), is a town in Shan State,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(formerly Burma). It is the principal town of Kengtung Township and the former seat of

Kengtung State Kengtung ( my, ကျိုင်းတုံ; shn, ၵဵင်းတုင် ''Chiang Tung;'' ), known as Menggen Prefecture ( zh, 孟艮府) or Möng Khün Chiefdom or Mueng Khuen Fu (Tai Khün: ) from 1405 to 1895, was a Shan state ...

, a minor principality. Kengtung is located on the National Highway 4 (NH4) and at the

AH2 Asian Highway 2 (AH2) is a road in the Asian Highway Network running from Denpasar, Indonesia to Merak and Singapore to Khosravi, Iran. The route is connected to M10 of the Arab Mashreq International Road Network. The route is as follows: ...

and

AH3 Asian Highway 3 (AH3) is a route of the Asian Highway Network which runs from Ulan-Ude, Russia (on AH6) to Tanggu, China; and Shanghai, China (on AH5) to Chiang Rai, Thailand and Kengtung, Myanmar (both on AH2). Southeast Asian issues By mid ...

of the

Asian Highway The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

Etymology

Owing to Kengtung's proximity to China and Thailand, the city is known by a number of

exonyms and endonyms An endonym (from Greek language, Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a Location, geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that p ...

. The endonym used by

Tai Khun Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film '' Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisatio ...

and Tai Lue-speaking locals is Jeng Tung (ᨾᩨ᩠ᨦᨩᩭᨦᨲᩩᨦ) respectively. Other Shan speakers use the exonym Kengtung. The most common exonym, Kyaingtong, is derived from the

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

approximation of Kengtung. The exonym of Chiang Tung ( th, เชียงตุง, ) is used by Thai speakers, while Chinese speakers use Jingdong ( zh, 景栋/景棟 ''Jǐngdòng'').

History

The early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. The oral tradition of the

ai people AI is artificial intelligence, intellectual ability in machines and robots. Ai, AI or A.I. may also refer to: Animals * Ai (chimpanzee), an individual experimental subject in Japan * Ai (sloth) or the pale-throated sloth, northern Amazonian ma ...

says that the ancient city of Kengtung was founded in the distant past by Tai Lue as the original inhabitants of the region, and was later reestablished by the grandson of King

Mangrai Mangrai ( nod, ; th, มังราย; 1238–1311), also known as Mengrai ( th, เม็งราย),The name according to historical sources is "Mangrai", and this is used in most modern scholarly applications. "Mengrai", popularised by a 19 ...

after defeating the Tai Lue. This migration of the

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

dynasty in the 13th century, with the founding a new kingdom which was later named Lanna, has resulted in Kengtung having a different type of Tai population from the rest of the Shan State, the

Tai Khün Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisations ...

. Kengtung, like other major towns in the Shan Plateau, was home to a Shan Saopha (Sawbwa). Kengtung was the capital of the

, and had a palace, built by Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng in 1905. The city was seized and occupied by the Thai

Phayap Army Phayap Army ( th, กองทัพพายัพ RTGS: Thap Phayap or Payap, ''northwest'') was the Thai force that invaded the Siamese Shan States (present day Shan State, Myanmar) of Burma on 10 May 1942 during the Burma Campaign of World ...

from 1942 until the end of the Second World War and became the headquarters of the Saharat Thai Doem territory. The headquarters of the regional military command of the Tatmadaw is in the town.Donald M. Seekins, ''Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'', p. 251 Kyaing Tong Market Aerial view

Geography

Kengtung contains several lakes. The largest, Naung Tung Lake, lies in the western part of the city, followed by Naung Kham Lake and Naung Yarng Lake to the south of the Kentung Roman Catholic Mission.

Transportation

The town is served by Kengtung Airport. An Embraer 190 of Myanmar National Airline at Kyaing Tong Airport

Kengtung is located on the National Highway 4 (NH4) and at the

and

of the

Climate

Kengtung has a tropical wet and dry/ savanna climate (Köppen-Geiger classification: Aw) with a pronounced dry season in the low-sun months, no cold season, wet season is in the high-sun months. Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months (December–February) are milder and nights can be quite cool. There is a winter dry season (December–April) and a summer wet season (May–November).

Education

* Keng Tung University * Keng Tung Computer University * Keng Tung Technological University

Health care

* Keng Tung General Hospital

Bibliography

* Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011). ''Traders of the Golden Triangle''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B006GMID5 *

J. G. Scott Sir James George Scott (pseudonym Shway Yoe, 25 December 1851 – 4 April 1935) was a Scottish journalist and colonial administrator who helped establish British colonial rule in Burma, and in addition introduced football to Burma. Life He w ...

, ''Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States''. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900-1901. *

Sao Sāimöng Sao Sāimöng (also Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi; 13 November 1913 – 14 July 1987) was a member of the princely family of Kengtung State. He was a government minister in Burma (now Myanmar) soon after independence; he was also a scholar, historian and ...

Mangrāi, ''The Pādaeng Chronicle and the Kengtung State Chronicle Translated''. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1981

External links

''The Happy City''
a 1959 film on a remote leper colony run by Father Cesare Columbo in Kengtung, Shan State
pictures from Kengtung

References

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in Shan State