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 A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

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State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

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Kengtung District Kengtung District ( my, ကျိုင်းတုံခရိုင်; also spelled Kengtong) is a district of the Shan State in Myanmar. It consists of three towns and 1449 villages. Townships The district contains the following townships: * ...

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Kengtung Township Kengtung Township ( shn, ၸႄႈဝဵင်းၵဵင်းတုင်, my, ကျိုင်းတုံမြို့နယ်; also spelled ''Kyaingtong'', Kengtong, th, เมืองเชียงตุง or ''Mueang Chiang Tun ...

, 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 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 ...

(formerly Burma). It is the principal town of

and the former seat of Kengtung State, a minor principality. Kengtung is located on the

National Highway 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durres to Kakav ...

(NH4) and at the AH2 and AH3 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 h ...

Etymology

Owing to Kengtung's proximity to China and Thailand, the city is known by a number of exonyms and endonyms. The endonym used by Tai Khun 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 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 Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985) ...

of the ai peoplesays 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 dynasty in the 13th century, with the founding a new kingdom which was later named

Lanna The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...

, has resulted in Kengtung having a different type of Tai population from the rest of the

, 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 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 ...

(Sawbwa). Kengtung was the capital of the Kengtung State, and had a palace, built by

Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng succeeded his brother to become the 53rd ruler ( Sawbwa) of the Shan state of Kengtung in 1895. He, his first wife, and his sister, Princess Tip Htila, all attended the Delhi Durbar in 1903 in a party of Shan princes g ...

in 1905. The city was seized and occupied by the Thai Phayap Army from 1942 until the end of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

and became the headquarters of the

Saharat Thai Doem Saharat Thai Doem ( th, สหรัฐไทยเดิม, lit=Unified Former Thai Territories) was an administrative division of Thailand. It encompassed parts of the Shan States of British Burma annexed by the Thai government after the Jap ...

territory. The headquarters of the regional military command of the

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 ...

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 Kengtung Airport is an airport in Kengtung, 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 ...

An Embraer 190 of Myanmar National Airline at Kyaing Tong Airport

Kengtung is located on the

(NH4) and at the AH2 and AH3 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