Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

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 ...

, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the

Yaw River Yaw River or Ywa River is a river of Burma 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 ...

Loi Leng Loi Leng is the highest mountain of the Shan Hills. It is located in Shan State, Burma, to the southeast of Lashio. Geography Loi Leng is part of a massif with multiple peaks located to the SW Pa-kawlam, 10 km to the north of Mong Pat an ...

, the highest mountain of the

Shan Hills The Shan Hills ( my, ရှမ်းရိုးမ; ''Shan Yoma''), also known as Shan Highland, is a vast mountainous zone that extends through Yunnan to Myanmar and Thailand. The whole region is made up of numerous mountain ranges separated ...

, is located to the south-east of Lashio. Lashio is the administrative center of

Lashio Township Lashio Township ( my, လားရှိုးမြို့နယ်) is a township of Lashio District in the Shan State of eastern Burma. The principal town is Lashio located in Northern Shan State. Lashio is famous by its natural resources. I ...

and

Lashio District Lashio District ( my, လားရှိုးခရိုင်) is a district of Shan State in Myanmar. It consisted of four towns and 2431 villages in 2001. Townships The district contains four townships, including: * Lashio Township *Hse ...

; before April 2010, it was also the administrative center of Shan State (North). The population grew from approximately 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It was estimated at approximately 131,000 in 2009. The population is made up of mostly Shan,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and Burmans.

History

The

British colonial period The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in this part of the country began in 1887, and the

Myanmar Railways Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...

line from Mandalay reached Lashio in 1903. Before British rule Lashio was also the centre of authority for the northern Shan States, but the Burmese post in the valley was close to the Nam Yao, in an old Chinese fortified camp. The Lashio valley was formerly very populous; but a rebellion, started by the

sawbwa Chao-Pha (; Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the Tai peoples of ...

Hsenwi Theinni or Hsenwi ( shn, ; my, သိန္နီ, ; th, แสนหวี, , ) is a town in northern Shan State of Burma, situated near the north bank of the Nam Tu River and now the centre of Hsenwi Township in Lashio District. It is nort ...

, about ten years before the British occupation, ruined it. In 1900, the town of Lashio consisted of the European station, with court house and quarters for the civil officers; the military

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

post, the headquarters of the Lashio

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of military police; and the native station, in which the various nationalities, Shans, Burmans, Hindus and Muslims, who were divided into separate quarters, with reserves for government servants and for the temporary residences of the five sawbwas of the northern Shan States; and a bazaar. Lashio became important during the Sino-Japanese War resp.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as the Burmese terminus of the

Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino ...

1938–45. In World War II, Lashio was taken by the Japanese April 29, 1942 and liberated by the Allies March 7, 1945.

Climate

Lashio has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cwa'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, marked by heavy rains from May to October. The annual rainfall averages . The average maximum temperature is and the average minimum . Temperatures are generally warm throughout the year, though nights are cool from December to March.

Landmarks

* Yan Tine Aung Pagoda * Chinese Temple * Natural Hot spring * Sarsana Hill * Mansu Shan Monastery * Lashio Night Bazaar * Hu Mon Dam * Linnoet (bat) cave * Ye Kan Thaung

Transport

Lashio is located at the end of the

, and at the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of the Mandalay- Kunlong

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. It is also the end point of the government cart road from Mandalay, from which it is distant. The scenic

Goteik viaduct The Goteik viaduct ( my, ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား, MLC Transcription System, MLCTS: ''gu.hti.ta.aa.'') also known as Gohteik viaduct) is a railway Trestle bridge, trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar (also known as Bur ...

is near Lashio and trains travelling from Mandalay pass over the bridge, which is the highest bridge in Myanmar. In 2009, a railway link through to

Jiegao Jiegao (; tdd, ᥓᥥ ᥐᥝᥱ) is a border trade zone in southern China near the border with Myanmar. It is located southeast of Ruili and is part of Yunnan province. Geography Jiegao is located on the east bank of the Shweli River, surrou ...

in China was proposed. In 2011 the proposal was expanded to a link between Kunming and

Kyaukphyu Kyaukpyu ( my, ကျောက်ဖြူမြို့ ; also spelt Kyaukphyu) is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is 250 miles (400 k ...

. President Thein Sein's signed a memorandum of understanding during his May 2011 visit to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

between Myanmar's rail transport ministry and China's state-owned Railway Engineering Corporation to build the railway. It is the home of

Lashio Airport Lashio Airport is an airport in Lashio, 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 pronoun ...

Culture

Religious sites include the "Sasana (Pyilon Chanta)

Pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

" and the "Mansu Pagoda". Yepusan

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

is nearly five miles away from the city center, and is healthful in winter. Other than some ethnic minorities group, Lashio is also a town with a large Chinese population. The most famous

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or ''d ...

in the area is "观音山灵峰寺" where many Chinese people visited during the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). Since 2000, Lashio has been important for

border trade Border trade, in general, refers to the flow of goods and services across the border between different jurisdictions. In this sense, border trade is a part of the normal trade that flows through the ordinary export/import legal and logistical fram ...

between Myanmar and China. . It is from Muse, and is situated midway between Muse and Mandalay. Sai Mauk Kham, one of the Vice Presidents of Myanmar's democratic government from the 2010 general election, was elected from Lashio constituency.

Education

The town is home to the Lashio University, the Computer University (Lashio), the Technology University (Lashio), the Education College (Lashio) and the Lashio Nursing School.

Gallery

File:Lashio.JPG, Lashio skyline File:Chinese temple觀音寺.JPG,

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

Temple (臘戌觀音寺) File:Lashio gate.JPG, Lashio Gate File:Nagayon.jpg, Nagayon Pagoda File:Sudownpyi.JPG, Sutaungpyay Pagoda File:Lashio sunglow.JPG, Sunset in Lashio File:Big pool.JPG, Lake in Lashio

References

External links

* Taipei American Chamber of Commerce; Topics Magazine, Analysis, November 2012.
Myanmar: Southeast Asia's Last Frontier for Investment
BY DAVID DUBYNE * Lashio, April 28, 1942 - Story of Wa
'Last Man in to Bat'
{{Shan State Populated places in Shan State Township capitals of Myanmar