Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Parauk: ), known before 1999 as Panghsang ( Parauk: , ), is a border town in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

's far eastern

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with

Yunnan Province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, opposite of the town of Menglian. Pangkham is the main town of Pangsang Township of Matman District of Shan State. It has

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s, shops, a

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

, karaoke bars, a

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

, and a 24-hour

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

. There is a thriving night life centered on the casino. Food in Pangkham is mostly imported from China. The cars, mainly

Land Rover Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...

s, Land Cruisers and foreign pick-ups, have been smuggled in from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

History

Pangkham is the ''de facto'' capital of Wa State, officially designated the Wa Self-Administered Division, 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. In the 1990s the Wa Women's Association established an orphanage in Pangkham for children's whose parents were killed in fighting between United Wa State Army and Shan forces. On 17 April 2009, the 20th anniversary of the coup against the CPB was celebrated in Pangkham, attended by representatives from the

military government A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel. Types of m ...

, 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 Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

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.

References

External links

Satellite map
''

GeoNames GeoNames (or GeoNames.org) is a user-editable geographical database available and accessible through various web services, under a Creative Commons attribution license. The project was founded in late 2005. The GeoNames dataset differs from, b ...

''
Panghsang area map
' Shan Herald Agency for News'' (S.H.A.N.)
Myanmar's Wa: Likely Losers in the Opium War
Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, ''

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kongbased English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...

'', 24 January 2004
Photo: Panghsang - bridge to the hidden city
Something about Myanmar, 28 February 2006
Photo: UWSA on parade at Panghsang
''

The Irrawaddy ''The Irrawaddy'' () is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. As a publication produced by former Burmese activists who fled violent crackdowns on anti-military protests in ...

'', 4 May 2009 {{Coord, 22, 10, N, 99, 11, E, display=title, region:MM_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Shan State China–Myanmar border crossings Wa people