Mong La

Mong La
မိုင်းလား / 勐拉
Town
Mong La

Location in Burma

Coordinates: 21°39′50″N 100°02′24″E / 21.66389°N 100.04000°E / 21.66389; 100.04000Coordinates: 21°39′50″N 100°02′24″E / 21.66389°N 100.04000°E / 21.66389; 100.04000
Country Burma
State Shan State
District Kengtong District
Township Mong La Township
Elevation[1] 640 m (2,100 ft)
Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)

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

Mongla is located opposite Dalou, 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]

History

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.[5][8] Mong La has a history of rapid expansion, but in the late 2000s, its economy was in decline.[9]

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.[10]

Visitor attractions

Further information: Tourism in Myanmar

There are 700-1000 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.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ GoogleEarth
  2. ↑ Mong La
  3. ↑ Mong La
  4. 1 2 Asia Times Online, Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country, Michael Black and Roland Fields, Aug 26, 2006
  5. 1 2 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. ↑ Mong La and the Kokang Incident 2 February 2010
  9. ↑ http://www.rabbitadvocacy.com/investigating_the_illegal_wildli.htm
  10. ↑ Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) Mongla to be reopened for tourists from Thailand 21 March 2012
  11. ↑ collinsmaps.com
  12. ↑ Map of Mong La
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