Wa StateWa State is an autonomous self-governing polity in Myanmar (Burma). It is de facto independent from the rest of the country and has its own political system, administrative divisions and army. However, the Wa State government recognises Myanmar's sovereignty over all of its territory, and the Burmese government does not consider Wa State's political institutions to be legitimate. The 2008 Constitution of Myanmar officially recognises the northern part of Wa State as the Wa Self-Administered Division of Shan State.
Wa StatesThe Wa States was the name formerly given to the Wa Land, the natural and historical region inhabited mainly by the Wa people, an ethnic group speaking an Austroasiatic language. The region is located to the northeast of the Shan States of British Burma, in the area of present-day Shan State of northern Burma (Myanmar) and the western zone of Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Practically the whole Wa region is rugged mountainous territory with steep hills and deep valleys. There were no urban areas.
Bulang peopleThe Bulang (布朗族, Bùlǎngzú; also spelled Blang) people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Yan & Zhou (2012:147) list the following autonyms of ethnic Bulang in various counties.
Wa peopleThe Wa people (Wa: Vāx; ဝလူမျိုး, wa̰ lùmjóʊ; ; ว้า) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part of Shan State and the eastern part of Kachin State, near and along Myanmar's border with China, as well as in China's Yunnan Province. Historically, the Wa have inhabited the Wa States, a territory that they have claimed as their ancestral land since time immemorial. It is a rugged mountainous area located between the Mekong and the Salween River, with the Nam Hka flowing across it.
KunmingKunming (kUn'mIN; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquarters of many of Yunnan's biggest corporations are based in the city. The city was of great significance during World War II as a Chinese military center, American air base, and transport terminus for the Burma Road.
Shan StateShan State (ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ʃáɰ̃ pjìnɛ̀; မိူင်းတႆး Möng Tai), also known by the endonym Shanland, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son Provinces) to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma (Myanmar) in the west. The largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km2, almost a quarter of the total area of Myanmar.
Austroasiatic languagesThe Austroasiatic languages ˌɒstroʊ.eɪʒiˈætɪk,_ˌɔː- , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China. Austroasiatic constitute the majority languages of Vietnam and Cambodia. There are around 117 million speakers of Austroasiatic languages, of which more than two-thirds are Vietnamese speakers. Of these languages, only Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mon have a long-established recorded history.
