Kaysone Phomvihane (district)

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Coordinates: 16°33′N 104°45′E / 16.55, 104.75
Kaysone Phomvihane (district)
The commercial centre of Kaysone Phomvihane, Savannakhet Province
Kaysone Phomvihane (district)
Country	Laos
Province	Savannakhet Province
Population
- Total	120,000

Kaysone Phomvihane (Lao:ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ) (population 120,000) is the capital of the Savannakhet Province in Laos. former name was Khanthabouli (Lao:ຄັນທະບູລີ). Kaysone Phomvihane is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. The city is birthtown of Kaysone Phomvihane, Greatest Leader of Laos. Although the old French colonial quarter of the town, along the Mekong River-front, is depressed and crumbling, the town's proximity to Thailand's booming economy has brought about new commercial development in the northern part of the town, near both the river crossing and the bus terminal.

Like all Lao cities, Kaysone Phomvihane has a mixed population of Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as minority peoples from the Lao interior. It has a large 15th century Buddhist temple, Wat Sainyaphum, a Chinese temple, a Catholic church and a mosque. The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong connects to Mukdahan Province in Thailand. The two-lane, 12-metre (39 ft) wide, 1,600-metre (5,250 ft) long bridge, opened to the general public on January 9, 2007.