Sainyabuli Province

Sainyabuli
ໄຊຍະບູລີ
—  Province  —
Country Laos
Capital city Sainyabuli
Area
 • Total 16,389 km2 (6,327.8 sq mi)
Population (2004)
 • Total 382,200
 • Density 23/km2 (59.6/sq mi)

Sainyabuli (Lao ໄຊຍະບູລີ) is a province of Laos, located in the northwest of the country.

Contents

Geography

The province is located in the northwest of the country, and covers all the area west of the Mekong river. It is bordered by Oudomxai Province to the north, Louangphabang and Vientiane Province to the east, and (from the south clockwise) the Thai provinces Loei, Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, Nan and Phayao. The province is quite mountainous and devoid of vehicle roads expect for one north-south route extending from the provincial capital to the Thai border opposite Thailand's Loie Province. The province is rich in timber and lignite, and is considered the rice basket of norther Laos, since most other northern provinces are too mountainous to grow enough rice. Other important crops include maize, oranges, cotton, peanuts and sesame.

History

In 1904 the area of the province was ceded from Siam to the French Indochina colony. In 1941 it was annexed by Thailand again under the name Lan Chang Province, but returned to the pre-war status in 1946. The area is allegedly a heartland for military involvement in illegal timber trade.[1]

Asian elephants in Sainyabuli

The Sainyabuli province is home to Laos’ majority of domesticated Asian elephants. Approximately 75% of the nation’s 560 domesticated elephants work in Sainyabuli.[2] Their main work duties are within the logging industry, which causes a loss in both wild and domestic elephant habitat.[3] The Sainyabuli province is also home to the annual Elephant Festival, organised in partnership by the Lao PDR National Tourism Authority, Elefantasia, provincial and district authorities.

Geography

Sainyabuli is the only Laotian province that is west of the Mekong River. Because the Mekong isolated Sainuyabuli from other Laotian provinces with Hmong villages, the warfare during the Quiet War that affected other Hmong villages largely did not affect Sainyabuli. Most Hmong villages in Sainyabuli did not see any fighting.[4]

Administrative divisions

The province is made up of the following districts:

  1. Boten (8-09)
  2. Hongsa (8-03)
  3. Kenthao (8-08)
  4. Khop (8-02)
  5. Ngeun (8-04)
  6. Paklai (8-07)
  7. Phiang (8-06)
  8. Thongmixai (8-10)
  9. Sainyabuli (8-01)
  10. Xianghon (8-05)

Other locations

See also

References

  1. ^ Walker, Andrew (1999). The legend of the golden boat: regulation, trade and traders in the borderlands of Laos, Thailand, China, and Burma. University of Hawaii Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780824822569. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZHK2AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
  2. ^ Elefantasia 2008, Who we are, 22 April 2008, http://www.elefantasia.org/spip.php?rubrique1&lang=en
  3. ^ Norachack, B 2002, 'The care and management of domesticated Asian elephants in Lao PDR', in Baker I & Kashio, M (eds), Giants On Our Hands: Proceedings of the International Workshop on the domesticated Asian elephant,FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, pp 172-180.
  4. ^ a b Fadiman, Anne. "Flight." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1997. 155.
  5. ^ Fadiman, Anne. "Flight." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1997. 156.
  6. ^ Fadiman, Anne. "Foua and Nao Kao." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1997. 103.
Bokeo Province
Phayao Province,  Thailand		 Oudomxay Province Luang Prabang Province
Nan Province,  Thailand Vientiane Province
   Sainyabuli Province    
Uttaradit Province,  Thailand
Phitsanulok Province,  Thailand		 Loei Province,  Thailand

Attapeu • Bokeo • Bolikhamxai • Champasak • Houaphan • Khammouan • Loung Namtha • Louangphabang • Oudomxai • Phongsali • Sainyabuli • Salavan • Savannakhet • Sekong • Vientiane • Xiangkhoang • Prefecture: Vientiane