Showing posts with label Luang Namtha Province. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luang Namtha Province. Show all posts

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Discover Luang Namtha ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ

See the locations on Discover Luang Namtha ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ Google Map

Nam Ha National Protected Area

Picture by Axel Drainville Jungle trek in Nam Ha Protected Area



Nam Ha National Protected Area covers over 2,000 km², and reaches a height of more than 2 kilometers above sea level, this protected area in Luang Namtha province is home to a multitude of animal species. It is especially popular with bird enthusiasts as there are more than 300 species that have been recorded here.
The park counts three rivers which drain into the Mekong: the Nam Tha, Nam Fa and Nam Long.

To visit the Protected Area you have to book tours in Phonxai Village in Luang Namtha. You can also book tours in XiengChai Village, Singchalern Village, Xiengchai Village, Dongvieng Village, Theo Village and Chomcheng Village. Find the tour operators. Examples:
The tours of ecotourismlaos.com.
Elephant Trail on Facebook
Discovering Laos
Ethnic Travel Laos
Forest Retreat Laos

How to get there: There is an airport in Luang Namtha with flights daily from Vientiane via Lao Airlines and Lao Skyway. Buses run regularly from all towns nearby and from Luang Prabang and Vientiane. The bus station is on Route 3, locate 10 km from the town center. A smaller bus station near the town services to Muang Sing, Muanglong, Viengphoukha, Nalae. With the High Speed Train from Vientiane you travel to Natuey Train Station, then take ataxi to Luang Namtha Province for 30 minutes.







See more Instagram Pictures of Nam Ha Protected Area



Nam Dee Waterfall near Luang Namtha

Nam Dee Waterfall is 6km from Luang Namtha town, you can access it on foot or on two wheels. There you can watch villagers make bamboo paper and clothes, which they dye with indigo, a natural dye method traditionally used.




Read also:
China-Laos-Railway operating for 6 months - what happened so far. With informations about timetables and tickets.
Luang Nam Tha: Jungle Trekkings, Homestays with Hilltribe People and Rivertrips
Boten: A Ghost Town at the Lao/China border waits to be waked up by China-Laos-Railway

Read background about Chinese influence in Luang Namtha:
The Response of Lao government to Chinese Investments in the Service Sectors of Namtha District


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Saturday, January 1, 2022

Boten: A Ghost Town waits to be waked up by China-Laos-Railway

A video from July 2020 shows the development of Boten (Chinese: 磨丁市, Lao: ບໍ່ເຕ່ນ) town in northern Laos, at the border between Laos and China: Many highrisebuildings, some finished, some under construction - but only a few people on the streets and in the shops. Millions of dollars have been invested in this Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos by Chinese companies, in anticipation of the construction of China-Laos-Railway. The railway in both countries is now finished, but still the border is closed for passengers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The investors will have to wait longer for the return of investment - if it will arrive ever.




The plans for the new Boten city (sometimes written Borten) are centered around an international finance centre in a cluster of 20-storey towers and a 30-plus-storey International Trade Centre. They aim at attracting nternational commerce and finance, international duty-free logistics and assembly, international education and medical industry and international services. Residential housing is dimensioned for 300,000 people. This at the location of a once small and sleepy rural village nestled in agricultural fields and surrounded by mountains covered by tropical forests. Promoting this new city is Haicheng, a private real estate development company headquartered in Kunming, where it has built commercial and residential properties. Since 2016 Haicheng has got a 90-year land lease. It has already invested around US$1 billion, completed 80% of land clearance, 258,526 m2 of commercial and residential real estate and is planning to invest a total of US$ 10 billion and complete the project over 10–15 years. This we can read in the publication "The BRI and Urbanisation" (February 2021) by Research Gate. Se this promotion video.



Much of Haicheng’s investment in Boten has come from bank loans made by the China–Laos Bank, a joint venture between a Laotian state bank and the Yunnan Fudian Bank, say the authors of Research Gate. Jinxin Fertility Group, a private healthcare company with hospitals in China, has recently acquired the first medical facility in Boten, the Rhea International Medical Centre, and plans to upgrade it for dealing with COVID-19 patients.

For now Boten has attracted mostly Chinese corporate and individual investors who have purchased the bulk of the completed commercial and residential properties. And a flood of Chinese workers and entrepreneurs have come to Boten, notes Murray Hiebert in his book "Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge". He also notes that Lao people are only hired if they speak Chinese.

Docoumentary Photographer Nicholas Bosoni shows the rising of the new city in his essay "Boten: the renaissance of Laos' Golden city".

CNA Insider has produced a documentary: The Rebirth of Casino Town Boten, Laos / Borderlands, a powerful and intimate look at the people who are living at this border town:




Get impressions of Boten City by these pictures on Instagram:


















The railway station in Boten:







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Location: Boten, Laos
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