Panghsang
Encyclopedia
Pangkham formerly known as Pangsang, Panghsang
before 1999, ia a town
in far eastern Shan State
of Myanmar
(Burma). It is situated on River Nam Hka near the border with Yunnan Province, China
. It is the de facto capital of Wa State
, officially designated as Special Region No. 2, while Hopang
is its capital assigned by Myanmar government. It is controlled by the United Wa State Army
(UWSA), the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) formed after the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma
(CPB) in 1989. It is the principal town of Pangsang Township
of Hopnag District of Shan State.
It has hotel
s, shops, a supermarket
, karaoke bars, a bowling alley, and a 24-hour casino
. There is a throbbing night life
centred around the casino. Food in Pangkham is mostly imported from China. The cars, mainly Land Rovers and Japan
ese pick-ups
, have been smuggled in from Thailand
.
On 17 April 2009, the 20th anniversary of the coup against the CPB was celebrated in Pangkham, attended by representatives from the military government
, Kokang
, Kachin Independence Organisation
(KIO), Shan State Army
- North, and former members of the CPB.
The next day, on 18 April 2009, a fire destroyed the largest petrol station and over 10,000 tons of teak
in a warehouse in Pangkham, both belonging to one of the Wa leaders Wei Hsueh-kang
.
The road from Panghkam to Metman is 48 miles long.
Panghsang
Pangkham , formerly known as Pangsang, Panghsang before 1999, ia a town in far eastern Shan State of Myanmar . It is situated on River Nam Hka near the border with Yunnan Province, China. It is the de facto capital of Wa State, officially designated as Special Region No. 2, while Hopang is its...
before 1999, ia a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in far eastern Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
of Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Burma). It is situated on River Nam Hka near the border with Yunnan Province, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is the de facto capital of Wa State
Wa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
, officially designated as Special Region No. 2, while Hopang
Hopang
Hopang is the principal town of Hopang Township of Shan State. Its coordination is 23 25' 00" N and 98 46' 00" E....
is its capital assigned by Myanmar government. It is controlled by the United Wa State Army
United Wa State Army
The United Wa State Army is an ethnic minority army of an estimated 30,000 Wa soldiers of Myanmar's Special Region No. 2 led by Bao Youxiang . There is no recognised Wa State in Myanmar, which is divided into divisions, states, and special regions...
(UWSA), the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) formed after the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
(CPB) in 1989. It is the principal town of Pangsang Township
Pangsang Township
Pangsang Township is a township of Lashio District. It is one of the 6 townships formed as Wa Self-Administered Division. Its principal town is Pangsang aka Pangkham. It became part of Hopang District instead of Lashio District in 2011....
of Hopnag District of Shan State.
It has hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, shops, a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, karaoke bars, a bowling alley, and a 24-hour casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
. There is a throbbing night life
Night Life
Night Life was a 1982 erotic graphic adventure game by Kōei, released for the PC-8801 computer.-Summary:It was the first commercial erotic computer game, featuring sexually explicit images, and a precursor to the modern bishōjo game genre. It was released in April 1982. Night Life was marketed as...
centred around the casino. Food in Pangkham is mostly imported from China. The cars, mainly Land Rovers and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese pick-ups
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
, have been smuggled in from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
On 17 April 2009, the 20th anniversary of the coup against the CPB was celebrated in Pangkham, attended by representatives from the military government
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
, Kokang
Kokang
Kokang , formally the First Special Region, is a self-administrative region of Burma . It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and it shares a border with China's Yunnan Province in the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai...
, Kachin Independence Organisation
Kachin Independence Organisation
The Kachin Independence Organization is a political organization of Kachins in Burma which effectively controlled the Kachin State during 1960s-1990s until the 1994 cease-fire with the Myanmar government...
(KIO), Shan State Army
Shan State Army
The Shan State Army, or SSA, was an army formed in 1964 to resist the military government of Burma in Shan State.It later split into two factions, usually known in English as the Shan State Army - South or SSA-S, which continues to oppose the government, and the Shan State Army - North or SSA-N,...
- North, and former members of the CPB.
The next day, on 18 April 2009, a fire destroyed the largest petrol station and over 10,000 tons of teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
in a warehouse in Pangkham, both belonging to one of the Wa leaders Wei Hsueh-kang
Wei Hsueh-kang
Wei Hsueh-kang is an infamous drug kingpin currently operating as the Southern Commander of the United Wa State Army.-Insurgent leader:Originally a member of Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army , he was one of the original founders of the UWSA in 1989 following the factional division of the old Communist...
.
The road from Panghkam to Metman is 48 miles long.
External links
- Satellite map GeoNamesGeoNamesGeoNames is a geographical database available and accessible through various Web services, under a Creative Commons attribution license.- Database and web services :...
- Panghsang area mapShan Herald Agency for NewsShan Herald News AgencyThe Shan Herald Agency for News is a private, nonprofit organization which attempts to fill the information void and shed light on the current situation in Shan State in Burma, where the media is closely controlled and censored....
(S.H.A.N.) - Myanmar's Wa: Likely Losers in the Opium War Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, Asia TimesAsia TimesAsia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
, January 24, 2004 - Photo: Panghsang - bridge to the hidden city Something about Myanmar, February 28, 2006
- Photo: UWSA on parade at Panghsang The IrrawaddyThe IrrawaddyThis article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...
, May 4, 2009
