Muse (; shn, မူႇၸေႊ) is the capital town of
Mu Se Township (also spelled as
Muse Township) in northern
Shan State
Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ( ...
,
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 Wells explai ...
. It is situated on the
Shweli River
Shweli River ( my, ရွှေလီမြစ်; zh, 瑞丽江) is a river in China and Myanmar (Burma). Also known as Nam Mao ( shn, ၼမ်ႉမၢဝ်း; ) in Shan or Dai, and Ruili River or Longchuan River (龙川江) in Chinese, i ...
(Nam Mao), and is connected by a bridge and road to
Ruili
Ruili (; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ; shn, မိူင်းမၢဝ်း; th, เมืองมาว; my, ရွှေလီ) is a county-level city of Dehong Prefecture, in the west of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It ...
(Shweli, , in
Burmese) in
Yunnan Province
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
,
China.
History
MuSe, pronounced Mu Zay, is a town situated on the bank of the ShweLi River (Nam Mao in Shan) bordering with China, Yunnan Province. The meaning of Muse is said to be Mu (community) Zay (province) = Community Province. It is one of the towns in ShweLi (toung mao in Shan). Toung Mao (ShweLi) consists of MuSe, NamKham and SeLan.
It is not known exactly who the founders of Muse were, and when was it founded. (Edited by Sai Htwe Maung from Muse)
The old bridge in Muse, dubbed the "Gun Bridge" by locals in reference to the frequency of illegal
armaments trafficking through the bridge, was closed in 2005, replaced by a wider bridge parallel to it.
In 2014, the governments of Myanmar and China have been discussing a border dispute in the area of
Namkham
Namhkam ( my, နမ့်ခမ်းမြို့; shn, ၼမ်ႉၶမ်း; tdd, ᥘᥛᥳ ᥑᥛᥰ), also spelled Nam Kham is the principal town of Namhkam Township in northern Shan State, Myanmar, situated on the southern bank of th ...
and Muse.
On May 23, 2021, the
People's Defense Force, the armed forces of the
National Unity Government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
clashed with
Tatmadaw
Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
forces in Muse, killing 13 security guards.
Transport
Muse is today connected to
Mandalay via
Lashio
Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...
by the
National Highway 3 450 km
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 h ...
route 14 (AH14), The old
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 ...
links the new road to
Bhamo
Bhamo ( my, ဗန်းမော်မြို့ ''ban: mau mrui.'', also spelt Banmaw; shn, မၢၼ်ႈမူဝ်ႇ; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ; zh, 新街, Hsinkai) is a city in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, south of the ...
in
Kachin State which links to the
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road (from Ledo, Assam, India to Kunming, Yunnan, China) was an overland connection between India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan ...
. Mandalay-Lashio-Muse Road included part of the Burma Road and was rebuilt and upgraded for heavy traffic in 1998 on a
Build-Operate-Transfer basis (BOT) by the
Asia World Company
Asia World Group ( my, အာရှဓန ကုမ္ပဏီ) is a Burmese conglomerate. It is Myanmar's largest and most diversified conglomerate, with interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export, and a l ...
headed by the son of the former
opium warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
Lo Hsing Han
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han ( my, လော်စစ်ဟန်, ; ; ca. 1930s – July 6, 2013) was a Burmese businessman and drug trafficker. He later became a major business tycoon across Burma, with financial ties to Singapore. He was an eth ...
. It has cut the journey time from 2 days, even a week in the
rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* '' ...
, to just 12–16 hours. Muse is also connected to central Burma via the Mandalay-Lashio
Northern Shan State Railway.
Economy
Cross-border trade was banned by
Ne Win after the military came to power in Burma in 1962 but the ban was lifted following negotiations in 1988.
Bilateral trade
Bilateral trade or clearing trade is trade exclusively between two states, particularly, barter trade based on bilateral deals between governments, and without using hard currency for payment. Bilateral trade agreements often aim to keep trade def ...
has risen steadily since, increasing by 60% in the
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
ending 31 March 2008, and constitutes 24% of Burma's trade ranking China as a major trading partner second only to
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
.
Burma exports mainly raw materials such as
agricultural produce
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
,
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
,
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
,
gems
Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals.
Gems or GEMS may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988
* ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994
* ''Gems'' (Michael Bolton album), 2011
* Gems TV, ...
and
minerals
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...
, and imports
consumer goods
A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, b ...
,
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
,
machinery and
processed food.
[ Muse's ' 105th mile Trade Zone', a border zone of 150 hectares, opened in April 2006, the first and largest ]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 ...
camp of its kind in Burma, handling as much as 70% of cross border trade with China. A trade fair
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
has been held annually every December since 2001 alternating between the two border towns each year with India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
as well as China taking part.
In 2007 the local militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
, under orders of the military authorities, seized of land in the area, mainly tea and orange plantations as well as small farms, with little or no compensation, in a drive to cultivate physic nuts for biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil ...
as an alternative fuel
Alternative fuel, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; ''fossil fuels'' (petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas), as well as nuclear materi ...
.
On 8 May 2008, the military seized 20 truck loads of biscuits and other goods at Muse allegedly for the relief of Cyclone Nargis
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis ( my, နာဂစ်, ur, نرگس ) was an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar during early May 2008. The cyclone m ...
victims.
A joint enterprise
The doctrine of common purpose, common design, joint enterprise, joint criminal enterprise or parasitic accessory liability is a common law legal doctrine that imputes criminal liability to the participants in a criminal enterprise for all reaso ...
between Burma and China to construct oil and gas
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and combustion, burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, petroleum, oil, and natura ...
pipelines from the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
via Mandalay through Muse to Kunming in Yunnan Province starts operations in 2009.
Narcotics
Recently China built a 4 km long fence on the border near Ruili in order to stop drug trafficking and two more are under construction.[ ]Drug addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
is a major problem in the area. The opium poppy harvest had increased since Lo Hsing Han
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han ( my, လော်စစ်ဟန်, ; ; ca. 1930s – July 6, 2013) was a Burmese businessman and drug trafficker. He later became a major business tycoon across Burma, with financial ties to Singapore. He was an eth ...
managed to rebuild his drug empire after becoming the intermediary for cease-fire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
agreements between the military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
chief Khin Nyunt
General Khin Nyunt (; ; born 23 October 1939) is a Burmese military officer and politician. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004.
Early life and education
Kh ...
and the Kokang
Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...
and Wa insurgents
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
who had rebelled against and toppled the Communist leadership in 1989. The World Food Program
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
carried out emergency food assistance to former poppy farmers in 2004-2005 as pressure mounted to stop cultivation of the poppy.
Gambling, drugs and prostitution flourished in Ruili, but Muse's own efforts to share in the Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
style business atmosphere met with much less success. The Chinese authorities cracked down on heroin entering - but not the chemical ingredients for the amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) called '' yaba'' leaving - and also on Chinese men enjoying the same pleasures on the Burmese side of the border. Besides the UNODC
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
, a number of groups and organisations such as the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN) and Buddhist monks are also involved in the amelioration of the HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
problem among drug users.
Notes
External links
Muse, bridge over Shweli, and Ruili
WikiMapia
Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interactive "clickable" web map that utilizes Google Maps with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects ...
Kyegaung checkpoint, Myanmar-China border at Muse-Ruili
''Asterism''
''Asterism''
Renaud Egreteau
MRTV3 video
Fifth Destruction of Seized Narcotic Drugs, March 21, 2005
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Department of Border Trade
Htoo Trading; only company with timber export license
''illegal-logging.info'', 17 August 2006
Shan: Rare Tree Trade Aggravates Deforestation
''illegal-logging.info'', 19 June 2007
''Mizzima News
Mizzima News ( my, မဇ္ဈိမသတင်း, Ma.jjhi.ma.) is a Burmese multimedia news organisation. It was established in August 1998 by a group of Burmese journalists in exile in New Delhi. The International Press Institute awarded Mi ...
'', 14 January 2009
{{China–Myanmar border crossings
Populated places in Shan State
China–Myanmar border crossings
Township capitals of Myanmar