Mong La

Mong La or Mongla (Burmese: မိုင်းလား; Chinese: 勐拉; pinyin: Měnglā), also known as Little Mong La (Chinese: 小勐拉; pinyin: Xiǎo Měnglā) to distinguish from neighboring Mengla County in China, is the administrative seat of Mong La Township in Shan State, Myanmar.

Mong La

မိုင်းလား / 勐拉
Town
Mong La
Location in Myanmar
Coordinates: 21°39′50″N 100°02′24″E
Country Myanmar
State Shan
DistrictKengtong District
TownshipMong La Township
Elevation640 m (2,100 ft)
Time zoneUTC+6.30 (MMT)

Mongla is located opposite Daluo, a Chinese border town in Yunnan Province, and approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) from Mae Sai, a border town of Thailand,[2] and approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-east of Kengtung.[3]

Although technically the town is in Myanmar, electricity, telecommunications, infrastructure works, as well as imports and exports are dependent on China.[4] The main currency used in Mong La is the Chinese yuan.[5]

Name

Mongla, Mengla or Meungla are different Romanization of the same Tai word, both the e and the o here should be pronounced like the Scottish accent pronunciation of u in bucks. Thus, to differentiate Mengla County in China and Mong La Township/settlement in Myanmar the locals call the former Greater Mengla/Mongla while the latter Lesser Mongla/Mengla.

The Mengla Town of Jinping County also bears the same name but is too far away to get a distinct refer by the locals.

History
See also: Shan State Special region 4, National Democratic Alliance Army, and Mong La Township

Mong La emerged from a small remote village in the 1990s to become a local version of Las Vegas.[4] The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) operates in the Mong La area.[6]

Mong La casinos were closed down in January 2005 for about a year because of complaints from the PRC Government.[7] There has been an increase in illegal wildlife trafficking in the region. Mong La has a history of rapid expansion, but in the late 2000s, its economy was in decline.[8]

The tourism from Thailand to Mong La resumed in 2012 after the signing of new cease fire agreement between the Burmese military government and the Mong La NDAA group in September 2011.

Visitor attractions
Further information: Tourism in Myanmar

There are 2000-3000 visitors each day. Gambling through the Internet is available. Its transvestite cabaret shows attract a lot of tourists from China. Gambling, prostitution and money laundering are other purposes of Chinese visitors. It is the home of Drug Eradication Museum, also known as the Opium Free Zone Museum, and the Dway Nagara Pagoda. Admission to the museum is free.

Geography
Further information: Geography of Myanmar

Its coordinates are 21° 39'50" N and 100° 02' 24" E.[9][10]

References
  1. GoogleEarth
  2. "Mong La, Burma". Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. "Mong La". Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  4. Asia Times Online, Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country, Michael Black and Roland Fields, Aug 26, 2006
  5. Star Publications Mongla escapade, LIZ PRICE, February 12, 2011
  6. "Asia Times Online :: south-east Asia news - Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country". Atimes.com. 2006-08-26. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  7. Thailand, China Williams
  8. "Investigating the Illegal Wildli". www.rabbitadvocacy.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  9. "collinsmaps.com". Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  10. "Home". Retrieved 5 December 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.