Xaisomboun province

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Xaisomboun Province
Xaisomboun-lao.svg
Province
Xaisomboun Province.jpg
Xaisomboun Province-Laos.svg
Location of Xaisomboun province in Laos
Coordinates: 18°54′21″N103°05′31″E / 18.9057°N 103.092°E / 18.9057; 103.092
Country Laos
Established13 December 2013
CapitalXaisomboun town
Area
 • Total8,551 km2 (3,302 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)
 • Total107,926
 • Density13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+7 (ICT)
ISO 3166 code LA-XS

Xaisomboun (Lua error in Module:Lang at line 1422: attempt to concatenate a nil value., pronounced [sáj.sǒm.bùːn] ) is a mountainous province in central Laos, between Vientiane province and Xiangkhouang province. The province covers an area of 8,300 square kilometres (3,200 sq mi) and had a population of 85,168 in 2015. Xaisomboun town in Anouvong District is the economic centre. There are extensive copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun.

Contents

History

Xaisomboun is the 18th and newest province of Laos. It was designated special administrative zone between June 1994 and 2006, with the military controlling the area to suppress Hmong resistance and to exploit timber resources. [1] Many Hmong locals fled Laos during this period, taking refuge in Phetchabun, Thailand. [2]

Xaisomboun was established as a province on 13 December 2013. [3] Since then, dam construction on the Nam Ngum River led to around 300 families being relocated to Feuang District in Vientiane province. [4] They were not compensated for the loss of their land. [5]

The province has long been a hotbed for conflict between the government and the Hmong peoples. In November 2015, unrest broke out in the province, killing three soldiers and three civilians. The Lao government imposed a curfew in the north-central part of the province in early-December, but in January 2016 a bomb was set off at a road construction site near Pha Nok Nok village in Long Cheang District, killing two Chinese officials and injuring another. As a result, on 16 February 2016, Major General Thongloy Silivong, a military officer who is the former chief of the National Defense Academy, was appointed the governor of Xaisomboun to tighten control. [4] On 16 June 2017, another Chinese official was shot dead in the province. [6]

Since 2019, the government has been exploring options to develop the tourism industry in the province, resulting in further displacement of the Hmong population, especially near Phou Bia. [7]

Geography

Phou Bia mountain from Xaysomboun town Phou Bia seen from Xaysomboun.jpg
Phou Bia mountain from Xaysomboun town

The province is mountainous. To the northeast of the town of Xaisomboun in neighbouring Xiangkhouang province is Phou Bia Mountain—at 2,819 m (9,249 ft) the highest point in Laos. [8] The principal river, the Nam Ngum, has been subject to a hydroelectric scheme with the creation of a dam and large reservoir and an underground power plant. [9] In March 2014 it was announced that the Chinese company, Norinco International Cooperation, Ltd., had invested US$218 million in the development, projected to take 42 months. [10]

Phou Khao Khouay National Biodiversity Conservation Area is a protected area 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Vientiane. [11] It was established on 29 October 1993 covering an area of 2,000 km2 extending into neighboring provinces. [12] It has a large stretch of mountain range with sandstone cliffs, river gorges and three large rivers with tributaries which flow into the Mekong River. [9]

Administrative divisions

There are 96 villages. Districts are: [13]

MapCodeName Lao script
Xaisomboun Province (from Dec 2013). Laos.svg
18-01 Anouvong District ເມືອງອະນຸວົງ
18-02 Longchaeng District ເມືອງລ້ອງແຈ້ງ
18-03 Longxan District ເມືອງລ້ອງຊານ
18-04 Hom District ເມືອງຮົ່ມ
18-05 Thathom District ເມືອງທ່າໂທມ

Economy

The economic centre of the province lies in Xaisomboun town, Anouvong District. [3] There are copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun, with companies such as Phu Bia Mining Limited operating. [14] Phu Kam and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver are notable mines in the area, with the Phu Kham mine producing 83,680 tonnes of copper concentrate and 70,787 ounces of gold and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver producing 108,570 oz of gold and 666,628 oz of silver in 2018. [15] The Phu Bia Mining Company began operations in 2006 and as of June 2019 had given nearly 6,248 trillion kip (US$716 million) in cumulative contributions to the government, generating over 3200 jobs for mainly Hmong locals. Phu Bia has permission to mine until at least 2021. [16]

The locals are mainly involved in cultivation, fish-raising, poultry and livestock. [17] Despite local conflict in recent years, the tourism industry is taking off in the province. [18]

In 2021, Xaisomboun provincial officials announced the development of Phou Bia Mountain as a "sustainable development tourism site", valued at some US$500 million. The development will center on Phou Houa Xang Village, in Anouvong District, Xaisomboun, under a 99 year concession. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laos</span> Country in Southeast Asia

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Laos</span>

Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state, dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Zone of Xaisomboun</span>

Xaisomboun was a special zone of Laos, located in the north of the country, near the capital Vientiane. The special zone was created 1994 by the military, with area split off from the provinces Vientiane and Xiangkhoang, in order to control and suppress the postwar Hmong resistance. It was officially dissolved on January 13, 2006, although the term continues to be used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provinces of Laos</span>

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is divided into 17 provinces and one prefecture, the Vientiane capital city municipality. The special administrative zone, Xaisomboun, created in 1994, was dissolved on 13 January 2006. In 2013, parts of the former special administrative zone was reestablished as Xaisomboun province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phonsavan</span> District & municipality in Xiangkhouang Province, Laos

Phonsavan, population 37,507, is the capital of Xiangkhouang Province. Phonsavan was built in the late-1970s and replaced old Xiang Khouang, which was destroyed during the Second Indochina War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phou Bia</span> Mountain in Laos

Phou Bia is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamese Cordillera, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,819 m (9,249 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the climate is cold and the area around the mountain is mostly cloudy.

The insurgency in Laos is a low-intensity conflict between the Laotian government on one side and former members of the Secret Army, Laotian royalists, and rebels from the Hmong and lowland Lao ethnic minorities on the other. These groups have faced reprisals from the Lao People's Army and Vietnam People's Army for their support of the United States-led, anti-communist military campaigns in Laos during the Laotian Civil War, which the insurgency is an extension of itself. The North Vietnamese invaded Laos in 1958 and supported the communist Pathet Lao. The Vietnamese communists continued to support the Pathet Lao after the end of the Laotian Civil War and the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. At least 100,000 Hmong civilians were killed as the result of Laotian governmental policies, in what has sometimes been referred to as the Hmong genocide.

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Bolikhamsai 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, the country's largest hydroelectric project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vientiane province</span> Province of Laos

Vientiane province is a province of Laos in the country's northwest. As of 2015 the province had a population of 419,090. Vientiane province covers an area of 15,610 square kilometres (6,030 sq mi) composed of 11 districts. The principal towns are Vang Vieng and Muang Phôn-Hông.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiangkhouang</span> Province of Laos

Xiangkhouang is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed place on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savannakhet province</span> Province of Laos

Savannakhet is a province of Laos. The name derives from Savanh Nakhone the province's original name. It bears the same meaning as Nakhon Sawan, a city in Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salavan province</span> Province of Laos

Salavan is a province of Laos, located in the south of the country. Its earlier name was Saravan which was changed by the Thais to Salavan in 1828. It was part of the Champasak Kingdom in an area known as Muang Mang inhabited by minorities of Mon-Khmer groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vientiane Prefecture</span> Prefecture of Laos

Vientiane Prefecture is a prefecture of Laos, in northwest Laos. The national capital, Vientiane, is in the prefecture. The prefecture was created in 1989, when it was split off from Vientiane province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luang Prabang province</span> Province of Laos

Luang Prabang is a province in northern Laos. Its capital of the same name, Luang Prabang, was the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom during the 13th to 16th centuries. It is listed since 1995 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for unique architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries. The province has 12 districts. The Royal Palace, the national museum in the capital city, and the Phou Loei Protected Reserve are important sites. Notable temples in the province are the Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Wisunarat, Wat Sen, Wat Xieng Muan, and Wat Manorom. The Lao New Year is celebrated in April as The Bun Pi Mai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champasak province</span> Province of Laos

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anouvong district</span> District in Laos

Anouvong is the capital of Xaisomboun province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muang Soui</span> Town in Laos

Muang Soui(In Lao: ເມືອງສຸຍ) is a small town in Xiangkhouang Province Laos. It is located on Route 7 of Laos, so east of Phoukhoune district, northwest of Phonsavan, and Ban Phou Pheung Noi, but north of Sam Thong, and Long Tieng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ban Phou Pheung Noi</span> Historic place in Laos

Ban Phou Pheung Noi is a Laotian village located at the peak of Phou Pheung mountain in the Xieng Khouang province of Laos. Phou Pheung mountain is approximately 916 m (3,005 ft). During the Vietnam War, combat between the American allies, the Hmong, and the Pathet Lao, The Laos Marxist government, and the Communist North Vietnamese People's Army took place on the mountain. Phou Pheung mountain runs from east to west and is rocky, and is covered in tropical forests. It is south of Muang Soui - Nongtang-Nato, and west of Phou Douk, Muang Phuan, Phonsavan and Plain of Jars. To the east, about 10 miles from Ban Phou Pheung Noi, is the Num Ngum 4 hydroelectric dam.

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References

  1. ↑ Stuart-Fox, Martin (6 February 2008). Historical Dictionary of Laos. Scarecrow Press. p. 385. ISBN   9780810864115 . Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Sommer, Rebecca (2006). "Report on the Situation in the Xaysomboun Special Zone and 1100 Hmong-Lao Refugees who Escaped to Petchabun, Thailand 2004-2005". Earth Peoples. pp. 1–8.
  3. 1 2 "About Xaysomboun". Tourism Laos. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 "New governor appointed to ensure security in Laos' Xaysomboun province". Radio Free Asia via RefWorld, UN Refugee Agency. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Hirsch, Philip (13 September 2016). Routledge Handbook of the Environment in Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 398. ISBN   9781315474885.
  6. ↑ "Laos: Chinese Embassy issues warning for Xaysomboun province June 18". Garda World. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "UNPO: Hmong in Isolation: Atrocities against the Hmong in Laos". unpo.org. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  8. ↑ "Xaisomboun province" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  9. 1 2 Fodor's Thailand: with Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, and Laos. Fodor's Travel Guides. 2013. p. 957. ISBN   9780770432072.
  10. ↑ "Chinese company to develop hydropower in Xaysomboun". Vientiane Times. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2019– via CGIAR.
  11. ↑ Land and forestland allocation policy: impacts on land use practices in Hatkhai and Yang-Khoua villages. Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University. 2004. p. 17. ISBN   9789746565882.
  12. ↑ "Tiger Paper". FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Far East. 2000. p. 2.
  13. ↑ "Old and new geographical delimitations and administrative districts of the new Xaisomboun province after 2014". Official Laos Government Presentation. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  14. ↑ Minerals Yearbook - Area Reports: International Review: 2011. International Department Geological Survey. 2013. pp. 13–29. ISBN   9781411336681.
  15. ↑ Frédéric Lasserre; Emmanuel Gonon; Éric Mottet (2016). Manuel de géopolitique: Enjeux de pouvoir sur des territoires (in French) (2nd ed.). Armand Colin. p. 265. ISBN   9782200615734.
  16. ↑ Boulom, Souksamai (7 June 2019). "Phu Bia Mining hoping to extend concession in Xaysomboun". Vientiana Times. Retrieved 27 August 2019– via Asia News Network.
  17. ↑ Bouapao, Lilao (2005). Rural development in Lao PDR: managing projects for integrated sustainable livelihoods. Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University. ISBN   9789746567886.
  18. ↑ "Xaysomboun province opens to tourism". TR Weekly. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  19. ↑ Thanabouasy, Phayboune (22 January 2021). "Unrest in Xaysomboun Province Now Resolved". The Laotian Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

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