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The national symbols of Laos are official and unofficial flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Laos and of its culture.
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Mainland Southeast Asia is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It includes the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Peninsular Malaysia.
The Hmong people are an indigenous group in East and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwest China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a large diasporic community in the United States of more than 300,000. The Hmong diaspora has smaller communities in Australia and South America.
"Pheng Xat Lao" is the national anthem of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. It was written and composed in 1941 by Thongdy Sounthonevichit. It was adopted as the national anthem of the Kingdom of Laos in 1945. The original lyrics were revised after the Communists triumphed in the Laotian Civil War and established the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975, with the new lyrics written by Sisana Sisane.
Pakse is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak. Located at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong Rivers, the district had a population of approximately 77,900 at the 2015 Laotian census. Pakse was the capital of the Kingdom of Champasak until it was unified with the rest of Laos in 1946.
Chiang Rai is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces, which lies in upper northern Thailand and is Thailand's northernmost province. It is bordered by the Shan State of Myanmar to the north, Bokeo province of Laos to the east, Phayao to the south, Lampang to the southwest, and Chiang Mai to the west. The provinces is linked to Houayxay Laos by the Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge that spans the Mekong.
Laab / Larb is a type of Lao meat salad that is the national dish of Laos, along with green papaya salad and sticky rice. Laab in the Lao language is a noun that refers to meat or other flesh that has been finely chopped and pounded. It is also considered a food of good luck in both Laos and Thailand because it has homonyms that mean 'lucky' in both languages, derived from लाभ in Sanskrit. Laab is of Lao origin, but is also eaten in other regions, most prominently the neighboring former Lan Xang territory, or modern day Laos and the northeastern and northern areas of Thailand, Isan and Lanna where the Lao have extended their influence. Other local variants of laab also feature in the cuisines of the Tai peoples of Shan State, Burma, and Yunnan Province, China.
The flag of Laos consists of three horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of the disc is 4⁄5 the height of the blue stripe. The flag ratio is 2:3.
Lao script or Akson Lao is the primary script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. Its earlier form, the Tai Noi script, was also used to write the Isan language, but was replaced by the Thai script. It has 27 consonants, 7 consonantal ligatures, 33 vowels, and 4 tone marks.
Green papaya salad is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. It is generally believed to have been created by the Lao people and is considered one of the national dishes of Laos. Green papaya salad is also popular in neighbouring Thailand's Isan region, whose population is mainly composed of ethnic Lao and from where it spread to the rest of Thailand. Green papaya salad has also spread to the rest of the continental Southeast Asia, as well as Xishuangbanna (China).
The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games involving disabled athletes from the current 11 Southeast Asia countries. Participating athletes have a variety of disabilities ranging from spastic, cerebral palsy, mobility disabilities, visual disabilities, amputated to intellectual disabilities. The ASEAN Para Games is under the regulation of the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) with supervision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Asian Paralympic Committee and is traditionally hosted by the country where the Southeast Asian Games took place.
Big C, operated by Big C Supercenter Public Company Limited under Big C Retail Corporation Public Company Limited, is a grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Big C is as of 2016 Thailand's second-largest hypermarket operator after Lotus's. It has operations in five countries, namely Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
Khao tom and khao tom mat are a popular Laotian and Thai dessert made of sticky rice, ripe banana, coconut milk, all wrapped and steamed-cooked in banana leaves. A similar dessert is enjoyed throughout Southeast Asian countries where it is known as Num ansom in Khmer, lepet in Indonesian, suman in Filipino, bánh tét and bánh chưng in Vietnamese.
Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos. Comprising the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture, the city is located on the banks of the Mekong, right at the border with Thailand. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule and, due to economic growth in recent times, is now the economic center of Laos. The city had a population of 1,001,477 as of the 2023 Census.
The football tournament at the 1993 SEA Games was held from 7 to 19 June 1993 in Singapore.
The Laos women's national rugby union team is a national sporting side that represents Thailand in women's rugby union. They first played international sevens rugby in 2007 at the South East Asia sevens, where they finished third. They then played a ten-a-side international against Cambodia in 2009, and in 2010 they won a non-test match developmental tournament involving Thailand and the Philippines. Their first full test was against Thailand in 2011.
Pha Taem National Park (Thai:อุทยานแห่งชาติผาแต้ม) is a national park on the Mekong River in Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeast Thailand. Phou Xieng Thong National Protected Area in Laos is on the opposite side of the river.
The Bank of the Lao P.D.R. is the central bank of Laos. It is also the bank of last resort, controlling the money supply, managing the country's reserves, and supervising the commercial banks operating in Laos.
The Boten–Vientiane railway is the Lao section of the Laos–China Railway (LCR), running between the capital Vientiane and the northern town of Boten on the border with Yunnan, China. The line was officially opened on 3 December 2021.
Miss Grand Laos is an annual female national beauty pageant of Laos, founded by Miss Laos Company Limited in 2017. The winner of which represents the country at its parent contest Miss Grand International. Since 2019, the franchise of the contest has belonged to Prime Modeling Agency which is managed by Saikeo Sidavong.
