Pekon (, also spelt Pekhon, Phekhon) is a town in far southern

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 ...

, eastern

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 ...

on the shores of the

Mobye Reservoir Mobye (; also spelt Mobre or Moe Bye) is a village tract within Pekon Township, Shan State, Myanmar. It is located on the southern end of the Mobye Reservoir located south of Inle Lake and contains the lowest point within Pekon Township at . Th ...

near the border with

Kayah State Kayah State (, ), or Karenni State, is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and west by Kayin State. It lies approximately b ...

. It is the seat of the

Pekon Township Pekon Township (; also spelled Pekhon, Phekhon, Pekong, Pecong, Pékon) is a township of Kalaw District in the Shan State of Myanmar. The principal town is Pekon. The largest settlement in the township is Mobye, a village tract in the east of the ...

in the

Kalaw District Kalaw District () is a district in Shan State, Myanmar. It was split from Taunggyi District on 30 April 2022 and contains three townships. Its district seat is Kalaw. Popular tourist sites, Inle Lake and Inlay Lake Wetland Sanctuary lies in t ...

. It is divided into 7 wards.

Demographics

In 2018, the town had 15,351 people and decreased slightly to 15,323 people by 2019. Most of the town is inhabited by children, with over 65.4% of the town being under the age of 18 as of 2019. Pekon is primarily inhabited by the Kayan people, a subgroup of the

Karenni people The Karenni (, ), also known as the Kayah () or Kayah Li (Karenni language, Karenni: ), are a Karen people native to the Kayah State of Myanmar (Burma). According to a 1983 census, the Karenni consist of the following groups: Kayah, Geko Kare ...

. The Kayan reclassified themselves into two further subgroups in 2005 with the Latha people living in Pekon. The town is also the namesake for the

standard dialect A standard language (or standard variety, standard dialect, standardized dialect or simply standard) is any language variety that has undergone substantial codification in its grammar, lexicon, writing system, or other features and that stands ...

of the Kayan language- better known as the

Padaung language Kayan, also known as, Padaung or Padaung Karen) is a Karen language of Burma, spoken by the Kayan people. The Kayan dialects share more than 90% lexical similarity. Padaung is 71% to 76% lexically similar to Lahta. Distribution * Pekhon, sou ...

. Pekon Kayan, spoken by the Latha, is not mutually intelligible with the Kayan spoken further into the hills by other Kayan peoples.

History

Pekon is home to the military base for Military Operations Command No. 2 and No. 7. The town bases several supply units and battalions of the

Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...

and serves as a logistical hub from the capital

Naypyidaw Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...

and southern Shan State. During the

Myanmar civil war Myanmar has been embroiled in armed conflict since 1948, when the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with ethnic armed organisations fighting Myanmar's arm ...

, the town was a target for Karenni resistance forces in 2024 due to its strategic importance. During various clashes, the town was bombed repeatedly by the

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force (, ) is the aerial branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception has been to provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanm ...

References

Populated places in Shan State Township capitals of Myanmar {{Shan-geo-stub