Mong La or Mongla ( my, မိုင်းလား ; zh, c=勐拉, p=Měnglā), also known as Little Mong La ( zh, c=小勐拉, p=Xiǎo Měnglā, links=no) to distinguish it from neighbouring

Mengla County Mengla County (; Tai Lue: , ''Mueang La''; lo, ເມືອງລ້າ; th, เมืองล้า) is a county under the jurisdiction of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in far southern Yunnan province, China. ''Meng'' is a vari ...

in China, is the administrative seat of Mong La Township in

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 ...

. Mong La is opposite , a Chinese

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different cou ...

Yunnan 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 C ...

Province, It is about from the Thai border town of Mae Sai and north-east of

Kengtung th , เชียงตุง , other_name = Kyaingtong , settlement_type = Town , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Myanmar , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

, Myanmar. Although Mong La is in Myanmar, its electricity, telecommunications, other infrastructure, and trade flows are dependent on China. The main currency used in Mong La is the

Chinese yuan The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

.Star Publication
Mongla escapade
LIZ PRICE, February 12, 2011

Name

Mong La, Mengla and Meungla are differing Romanizations of the same

Tai 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 ...

word. Both the ''e'' and the ''o'' should be pronounced like the Scottish pronunciation of ''u'' in ''bucks''. To differentiate

in China and Mong La Township/settlement in Myanmar the locals call the former "Greater Mengla/Mongla" and the latter "Lesser Mongla/Mengla". in Jinping County also bears the same name but is too distant to cause confusion.

History

Mong La emerged from a small remote village in the 1990s to become a local version of

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 ...

. The

National Democratic Alliance Army The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) is an insurgent group in eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC). History The Mong La area had been under the control of several war ...

(NDAA) operates in the Mong La area. Michael Black and Roland Fields. "Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country
''Asia Times''
26 August 26, 2006 Mong La

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s were closed in January 2005 for about a year because of complaints from the

Government of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...

. Mong La has a history of rapid expansion, but in the late 2000s, its economy was in decline. Tourism from Thailand to Mong La resumed in 2012 after the signing of new cease fire agreement between the Burmese military government and the Mong La NDAA in September 2011. There has been an increase in illegal wildlife trafficking in the region. Mong La has emerged as a significant hub of the pangolin trade and during four visits in 2006, 2009, 2013–2014 and 2015, a total of 42 bags of pangolin scales, 32 whole skins, 16 foetuses or pangolin parts in wine and 27 whole pangolins were observed for sale. Wildlife products from Africa, such as African elephant ivory and white rhino horn, have been observed openly for sale in Mong La, indicating this hub is being used to move such items into China.

References

External links

Burma RoadUndercover in Myanmar's Sin city where anything goes - BBC News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mong La Township capitals of Myanmar Populated places in Shan State Tourism in Myanmar