Xiangkhouang
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
on the
Xiangkhoang Plateau The Xiang Khouang Plateau or Xiang Khwang Plateau, also known in French as Plateau du Tran-Ninh is a plateau in the north of Laos. The landscape is characterized by green mountains, rugged karst formations and verdant valleys with plenty of river ...
, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed place on Earth. Historically, the province was formerly the independent
principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...
of
Muang Phuan Muang Phuan (, ; ; Country of Phuan) or Xieng Khouang (, ; ), also known historically to the Vietnamese as Trấn Ninh (chữ Hán: 鎮寧; lit. "securement of peace"), was a historical principality on the Xiang Khouang Plateau, which constitut ...
. Its later capital is
Phonsavan Phonsavan (also spelled Phonesavanh, , ), population 37,507, is the capital of Xiangkhouang Province. Phonsavan is known for the nearby Plain of Jars, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The recorded history of Xiangkhouang is interlinked ...
. The population of the province as of the 2015 census was 244,684. Xiangkhouang province covers an area of and is mountainous. Apart from
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
s, the largest area of level land in the country is on the province's Xiangkhoang Plateau. The plateau is characterized by rolling hills and grassland whose elevation averages . The country's highest peak,
Phou Bia Phou Bia (, ) is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the ...
(), rises at the south side of the plateau.
Nam Et-Phou Louey Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park is a protected area in northern Laos, covering in three provinces: Houaphan, Luang Prabang, and Xieng Khouang. It was designated a national park in 2019, and was previously designated a national protected area. T ...
is a National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) in the province, covering an area of 5,959 km2, and overlaps into Houaphanh and
Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...
provinces. The province's
Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of ...
was designated as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 2019.


History

The Tai Phuan or Phuan people are a
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
Tai-Lao ethnic group that migrated to Laos from southern China. According to the ''Pongsawadan Meuang Puan'' ("Muang Puan Chronicles"), they were the first people who migrated in the 13th century from China to settle this province, forming the independent principality of
Muang Phuan Muang Phuan (, ; ; Country of Phuan) or Xieng Khouang (, ; ), also known historically to the Vietnamese as Trấn Ninh (chữ Hán: 鎮寧; lit. "securement of peace"), was a historical principality on the Xiang Khouang Plateau, which constitut ...
on the Plain of Jars, with Xieng Khouang (contemporary Muang Khoun) as its capital. They established an overland trade in metals and forest products with
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
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 ...
; the Xieng Khouang Plateau was the center of trade for an area of upland
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, extending as far as
Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Samrong Sen in
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, the
Khorat Plateau The Khorat Plateau (; ) is a plateau in the northeastern Thai region of Isan. The plateau forms a natural region, named after the short form of Nakhon Ratchasima, a historical barrier controlling access to and from the area. Geography The avera ...
in northeast
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 ...
, and the
North Cachar Hills Dima Hasao district (), is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of two autonomous hill districts of Assam. The district headquarters Haflong ...
of
northeastern India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...
. In the 14th century, Muang Phuan was subsumed into the
Lan Xang Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...
kingdom under King
Fa Ngum Somdetch Brhat-Anya Fa Ladhuraniya Sri Sadhana Kanayudha Maharaja Brhat Rajadharana Sri Chudhana Negara (), better known as Fa Ngum ( Laotian: ຟ້າງູ່ມ ; 1316 – 1393, born in Muang Sua, died in Nan), established the Lao kin ...
. Siamese invasions in 1777–1779, 1834–1836, and 1875–1876 sought to resettle the Phuan population into regions under firm Siamese control. In the 1890s, the province came under
French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...
following the
1893 Franco-Siamese crisis The Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, known in Thailand as the Incident of Rattanakosin Era 112 (, , ) was a conflict between the French Third Republic and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie, French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1886, was the c ...
. During the
Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
of the 1960s and 1970s, the province was a battleground in the
Laotian Civil War The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert Theatre (warfare), theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy ...
, fought between royalist forces and the communist
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao (), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and political organization, organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ultimately gained control over the entire country of ...
until 1975, when the Pathet Lao emerged victorious and seized power over all of Laos. Xiangkhouang was the Lao province most bombed by the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
in support of royalist forces led by
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
general
Vang Pao Vang Pao ( RPA: ''Vaj Pov'' , Lao: ວັງປາວ; 8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was a Major general in the Royal Lao Army and later a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. Early life Vang, an ethnic Hm ...
, who was born in the province. As a result of this extensive air campaign, Muong Khoun, the original capital of the province, was virtually razed to the ground, resulting in the capital being moved to
Phonsavan Phonsavan (also spelled Phonesavanh, , ), population 37,507, is the capital of Xiangkhouang Province. Phonsavan is known for the nearby Plain of Jars, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The recorded history of Xiangkhouang is interlinked ...
. During the wars, most of the 16th–19th century temples were completely destroyed, with only Wat Phia Wat temple having partially survived.


Geography

Xiangkhouang province covers an area of and has a largely mountainous topography. The province borders Luang Prabang province to the northwest,
Houaphanh province Houaphanh province (, , Romanization of Lao: ''Houaphan'' also ''Huaphan'') is a province in eastern Laos. Its capital is Xam Neua. Houaphanh province covers an area of . It is bordered by Vietnam to the north, east, and southeast, Xiangkhoua ...
to the northeast,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
to the east,
Bolikhamsai province Bolikhamsai (, ), formerly gallicized as Borikhamxay, is a province of Laos. Pakxan, Thaphabat, Pakkading, Borikhane, Viengthong, and Khamkeut are its districts and Pakxan is its capital city. The province is the site of the Nam Theun 2 Dam, ...
to the southeast, and Vientiane province to the southwest. The capital is Phonsavan. Xiangkhouang and Vientiane provinces are part of the
Nam Ngum River Nam Ngum (, ) is a 354 km long river in Laos. It is a major tributary of the Mekong River. Geography The Nam Ngum originates from the northern mountainous region of Xiangkhoang Province and flows south through Vientiane Province joining ...
watershed. Apart from floodplains, the largest expanse of level land in the country is on the province's Xiangkhoang Plateau. This area is characterized by rolling hills and grassland whose elevation averages . The country's highest peak,
Phou Bia Phou Bia (, ) is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the ...
(), rises at the southern side of the plateau, while the Plain of Jars is at the plateau's centre. The province is 400 km northeast of
Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...
.
Phou Bia Phou Bia (, ) is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the ...
, at 2,700 m elevation, is the highest peak in the province, and the highest in Laos. The capital city is at an elevation of about 1,000 m
above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
(AMSL), with Kham District in a low-laying basin at an elevation of about 600 m AMSL.


Protected areas

Nam Et-Phou Louey Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park is a protected area in northern Laos, covering in three provinces: Houaphan, Luang Prabang, and Xieng Khouang. It was designated a national park in 2019, and was previously designated a national protected area. T ...
is a National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) which covers an area of 5,959 km2 in Xiangkhouang, Houaphanh, and Luang Prabang provinces. The park consists mainly of mountains and hills, with elevations ranging between 336 and 2257 metres. The area is the source of some rivers. It is named after the Nam Et River and Phou Louey ("Forever") Mountain. The area has a number of endangered species including
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
,
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
,
clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...
,
Asian golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2025, and is threatened by poaching ...
,
marbled cat The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') is a small Felidae, wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of . As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatene ...
,
civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...
,
gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...
,
Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe huntin ...
, white-cheeked gibbon,
sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a bear species in the Family (biology), family Ursidae found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'' and the smallest bear species, standing nearly ...
, black bear,
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...
,
dhole The dhole ( ; ''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It is anatomically distinguished from members of the genus ''Canis'' in several aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third ...
,
hornbill Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper ...
and three species of
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
.


Administrative divisions

The province is composed of eight districts which cover a total land area of . Thathom District was moved to
Xaisomboun province Xaisomboun (, ) is a province in central Laos, between Vientiane province and Xiangkhouang province. Xaisomboun town in Anouvong District is the economic centre. There are copper and gold mining operations at Sana Somboun. Geography To the no ...
in January 2006. In Xieng Khouang there is a Hospital and an Eye Care Hospital Unit. This is build and supported by the
Eye Care Foundation Eye Care Foundation (ECF) is an international charity organisation active in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin-America. ECF was founded when ''Eyecare Worldwide'' and ''Mekong Eye Doctors'' joined forces in 2008. The two organizations sh ...
Foundation.


Economy

Xiangkhouang province is the main
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
-producing area of Laos. The centre for trade and tourism is
Phonsavan Phonsavan (also spelled Phonesavanh, , ), population 37,507, is the capital of Xiangkhouang Province. Phonsavan is known for the nearby Plain of Jars, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The recorded history of Xiangkhouang is interlinked ...
. In the village of Ban Napia near Phonsavan, villagers re-use scrap metal from
unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...
(UXO) to make spoons to be sold as souvenirs. The scrap metal is checked for safety beforehand by UXO Lao. This community-based project provides income for the villagers. As of 2012, three accidents involving UXO had been reported.


Ethnic groups

Image:Hmong_New_Year_Girls.JPG, Hmong girls Image:Phonsavan_Hmong New Year_Bullfight.jpg, Bullfight, Hmong New Year Image:Phuan_Girls.JPG, Phuan girls in traditional clothing


Tai Dam

Tai Dam, Tai Daeng and Tai Phuan belong to the
Tai language The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages ( Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, ...
family, spoken by 60% of the national population. The Tai Dam migrated from northern Vietnam to Laos 80–300 years ago. They are not Buddhists. Instead, they practice a form of ancestor and spirit worship. Tai Dam are producers of silk and cotton textiles and some women export to overseae markets. Older Tai Dam women wear the traditional blue indigo cotton shirt, skirt, and black turban woven with colored patterns. They produce rice alcohol, called ''lao lao'' that is consumed socially and used for ritual purposes. Tai Dam settled in upland valleys near streams and irrigable and accessible plains scattered among Lao and Phuan villages. They built rectangular symmetric houses on pilings, with a rice granary under the house. Villages are composed of 15¬60 houses and are not fenced. The people subsist on wet rice, vegetables, poultry, weaving, sewing and hunting. The ancestors of the Tai Phuan once founded the kingdom of the same name.


Khmu

Part of the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic linguistic family, the Khmu settled in the area some thousand years ago. Khmu houses are built on stilts. Each village has a communal house where men gather for political discussions, or work together on basket making and other crafts. Like some ethnic groups in Lao the Khmu practice their own form of
animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...
. The Khmu are known for their skill at making baskets, fish traps, and other objects from bamboo. Their material culture, their tools, utensils, baskets and netbags reflect their continued reliance on the forest. Growing rice, hunting, gathering forest products and producing handicrafts provide some cash income. They distill ''lao hai'' ("jar alcohol").


Hmong

Hmong people migrated from China to Laos between 1800 and 1900. Having a desire for independence, they rebelled against Chinese attempts to control and settle them and fled in successive waves southwards. During the Lao Civil war in the 1960s and 1970s, Hmong were recruited by the CIA's "Secret Army", commanded by Hmong General Vang Pao. Hmong villages were relocated in free-fire zones, and some died during these evacuations or due to fighting. When the communists came to power in 1975, tens of thousands of Hmong fled to Thailand or emigrated to the US. Today, remittances from the diaspora are an economic factor in the province, fueling construction activity. The Hmong accounts for 6-10% of the total population of Laos, and remain most numerous and concentrated in eastern Xiangkhouang. In the province the White Hmong, the Striped Hmong, and the Green Hmong can be distinguished. A way to differentiate these groups is by looking at the women's dresses. Hmong live in forested mountains between 800 and 1,500 meters elevation, and in Laos they are categorized as Lao Soung ("highland people"). Hmong villages range in size from 15 to over 60 houses; they are not fenced and are organized by clan. The rectangular houses are on beaten soil and have one room without windows. The walls are made of vertical wood planks and bamboo and a thatched roof. Hmong are known for their knowledge of the forest, herbal medicines, and expertise in raising animals. Their agricultural system is based on rain-fed slope cultivation with
slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...
techniques. They live on rice, corn and vegetable production, swine and poultry husbandry, gathering, hunting, embroidery, and basket work. Their religion is a form of shamanistic animism with a cult of ancestors and spirits, and a belief in three souls. Certain spirits protect the people within the village boundaries, while others maintain their influence over the plant and animal kingdom outside the village. Hmong women are known for their embroidery and weaving. Traditionally, clothes are made from hemp and cotton. Batik is used only by Green Hmong for their skirts. Before dying, the cloth the pattern is marked with wax. The wax is then removed to reveal the pattern. The wax is applied with a batik pen and the design is completed square by square. Some geometric patterns exist and are passed on from mother to daughter. The material is pleated by running a sharp-edged stone along the pleat lines on alternate sides of the cloth, and sewing the poles into place at the waistband. These skirts and some other items of Hmong clothing are embroidered. Embroidery and applique is a social activity, a time for women to sit together and exchange views and news. Hmong New Year celebrations in December, starting from the 15th day of the ascending moon, are accompanied by activities including top-spinning competitions, dances, songs, and bull fights. It is one of the occasions for finding a wife or a husband. Men and women toss the '' makkono'', a fabric ball, as part of a courting ritual which can go on for hours. During the festivities, Hmong women wear their traditional dresses, adorned with embroidery and silver jewelry.


Landmarks

The tourism department of Laos has listed 63 “notable landmarks” in the province. 32 are natural sites, 18 are cultural sites, and 13 are historical sites. Of these, some are the following: The first landmark is the
Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of ...
. The "jars" are 2,100 tubular-shaped
megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
stone jars used for funerary purposes. The jars range from in height. They are found throughout the province in clusters containing from one to some hundred jars each. The jars date from the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
(500 BCE–500 CE). Nearest to Phonsavan is Jar Site 1, with an area of 25
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s (ha). The largest jar found here is 2.5 m x 2.5 m, while the rest are half this size. One jar has decorations on it. The megalithic jar sites of Xiangkhouang were inscribed on UNESCO's list of
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s in July 2019. Muang Khoun was the capital of the Phuan Kingdom of the 14th century. It is southeast of Phonsavan. At the Wat Phia Wat Temple, destroyed during the conflicts of the First Indochina War (1946–1954) and the Second Vietnam War (1955–1975), the ruins of a stone wall with brick archways, relics of French colonial rule of over this part of Laos and from the whole country, a statue of Buddha, broken pillars and sections of walls remain and are visible and accessible. Once buried in the tropical forest, the That Foun
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
, dating back some 450 years, can be seen near the road outside Phonsavan. In an ethnic village of the Phuan, to the south of Phonsavan, ''Ban Napi'' mounds of war scrap can be seen buried in tableware. During the 1980s, eight families came together and assembled bits and pieces of aluminum from damaged, crashed or shot-down
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
aircraft, and aircraft from US-aligned air forces (such as the
Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (; – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and the Kingdom of Laos during t ...
) in mounds of melted metal, lack, wood and ash. Such war debris and wreckage can be found scattered between the Lang Waterfall and Jar Site 3 of the Plain of Jars. A secret tunnel was constructed below the hills of the Phu Kheng Jar Quarry Site during the Second Indochina War. The tunnel is in length and in height. Reinforced-concrete bunkers with night-camps are visible nearby.


See also

*
Ban Phou Pheung Noi Ban Phou Pheung Noi () is a Laos, Laotian village located at the peak of Phou Pheung mountain in the Xiangkhouang, Xieng Khouang province of Laos. Phou Pheung mountain is approximately . During the Vietnam War, combat between the American allies ...


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* *
Tragic Legacy: Profound Mystery – The Unknown Story of Xieng Khouang by Mike Matsuno
{{Laos provinces Provinces of Laos