Savannakhet province

Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ, sā.wǎn.nā.khȅːt) is a province of Laos. The name derives from Savanh Nakhone ('heavenly district' or 'land of fertility suitable for agriculture') the province's original name. It bears the same meaning as Nakhon Sawan, a city in Thailand. The province is in the southern part of the country and is the largest province in Laos. It borders Khammouane province to the north, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên–Huế provinces of Vietnam to the east, Salavan province to the south, and Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan provinces of Thailand to the west. The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River connects Mukdahan province in Thailand with Savannakhet in Laos. Its capital, Savannakhet, also known as Kaysone Phomvihane or Muang Khanthabouly is Laos' second largest city after Vientiane. It forms an important trading post between Thailand and Vietnam. Along with Bolikhamsai and Khammouane provinces, Savannakhet is one of the main tobacco producing areas of Laos. It has numerous natural resources. Xépôn is the site of the largest mine in Laos, with reserves of copper and gold. During the Iron Age, copper smelting and copper mining was held at the archaeological site Vilabouly Complex. Prehistoric human occupation is evidenced by the first stone tools in the province, dating back between 100,000 and 12,000 years. The first bronze tools date to 2000 BCE. The region was then the center of the Sikhottabong Kingdom. The much-venerated Pha That Sikhottabong stupa is on the grounds of a 19th-century monastery in Thakhek. Sikhottabong was an important kingdom in ancient Indo-China. Its capital was in the north-west of the province, in the present village of Meuang Kabong, on the eastern shores of the Banghiang River, about east of the Mekong. Other centers of the kingdom were in Viang Chan, Khammuan, Nong Khai, and Udon. Khmer Empire ruins dating to 553 and 700 CE have been found at Heuan Hin. In the 20th century, Savannakhet province was one of the seats of the struggle for independence.