TaunggyiTaunggyi ( tàʊɰ̃dʑí mjo̰; Shan: weŋ˥ ton˧˧˨ ti˥; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth largest city of Myanmar, and has an estimated population of 380,665 as of 2014. The city is famous for its hot air balloon festival held annually on the full moon day of Tazaungmon.
KengtungKengtung (ဝဵင်းၵဵင်းတုင် weŋ˥ keŋ˥ tuŋ˨˦, เชียงตุง), also spelt Kyaingtong (; tɕaɪ́ɰ̃ tòʊɰ̃ mjo̰), is a town in Shan State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the principal town of Kengtung Township and the former seat of Kengtung State, a minor principality. Kengtung is located on the National Highway 4 (NH4) and at the AH2 and AH3 of the Asian Highway. Owing to Kengtung's proximity to China and Thailand, the city is known by a number of exonyms and endonyms. The endonym used by Tai Khun and Tai Lue-speaking locals is Jeng Tung (ᨾᩨ᩠ᨦᨩᩭᨦᨲᩩᨦ) respectively.
ThingyanThingyan is the Myanmar New Year festival that usually occurs in middle of April. According to the history, the first Water Festival is Thingyan as it started during the Kingdom of Tagaung (1st Century CE - 1050 AD) and become widespread and famous during the Kingdom of Bagan (849 AD - 1297 AD). It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days, culminating in the New Year. The dates of the Thingyan Festival are calculated according to the Burmese calendar.
LashioLashio ( láʃó mjo̰; Shan: weŋ˥ laː˧˧˨ sheu˧˧˨) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located to the south-east of Lashio. Lashio is the administrative center of Lashio Township and Lashio District; before April 2010, it was also the administrative center of Shan State (North). The population grew from approximately 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983.
Akha peopleThe Akha are an ethnic group who live in small villages at higher elevations in the mountains of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Yunnan Province in China. They made their way from China into Southeast Asia during the early 20th century. Civil war in Burma and Laos resulted in an increased flow of Akha immigrants and there are now 80,000 people living in Thailand's northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. The Akha speak Akha, a language in the Loloish (Yi) branch of the Tibeto-Burman family.
Inle LakeInle Lake (, ʔɪ́ɰ̃lé kàɰ̃), a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar, with an estimated surface area of , and one of the highest at an elevation of . During the dry season, the average water depth is , with the deepest point being . During the rainy season, this can increase by . The watershed area for the lake lies to a large extent to the north and west of the lake.
Lao peopleThe Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the Lao language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere to Theravada Buddhism. They are closely related to other Tai people, especially (or synonymous) with the Isan people, who are also speakers of Lao language, native to neighboring Thailand. In Western historiography, terms Lao people and Laotian have had a loose meaning.
Aung San Suu KyiAung San Suu Kyi (aʊŋ_ˌsɑːn_suː_ˈtʃiː; ʔàʊɰ̃ sháɰ̃ sṵ tɕì; born 19 June 1945), sometimes abbreviated to Suu Kyi, is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party's founding in 1988, and was registered as its chairperson while it was a legal party from 2011 to 2023.
Intha peopleThe Intha (, ɪ́ɰ̃ðá lùmjóʊ; sons of the lake, also spelt Innthar) are members of a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group living around Inle Lake. There are around 100,000 to 200,000 Intha. The origins of the Intha are disputed; the Intha believe their ancestors arrived from the southern tip of modern-day Myanmar (Tanintharyi Region). A commonly held theory is that the Intha fled from southern Myanmar during the 14th century; the ruling Shan saophas forbade them from settling on the land, which forced the Intha to instead settle on Inle Lake.
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.
