Kengtung

Kengtung Kyaingtong
—  Town  —
The 'Sawbwa Palace, a historic landmark, was destroyed in 1991 by the Burmese government.
Kengtung Location in Burma
Coordinates: 21°17′30″N 99°36′30″E / 21.29167°N 99.60833°E / 21.29167; 99.60833Coordinates: 21°17′30″N 99°36′30″E / 21.29167°N 99.60833°E / 21.29167; 99.60833
Country	Burma
Region	Shan State
District	Kengtung District
Township	Kengtung Township
Time zone	MST (UTC+6.30)

Kengtung (Shan: ၵဵင်းတုင်; Burmese: ကျိုင်းတုံမြို့; MLCTS: kyuing: tum mrui., pronounced [tɕáiɴtòuɴ mjo̰]; also spelled Kyaingtong, Chiang Tung, Cheingtung, and Kengtong) is a town in Shan State, Burma. It is the principal town of Kengtung Township. It lies along National Highway 4.

There is an airport in Kengtung.

History

Kengtung was founded by the grandson of King Mangrai. This migration of the Chiangmai dynasty, made in the 13th century with the idea of founding a new kingdom which called Lannathai in Chiang Mai, has resulted in Kengtung having a different type of Tai population from the rest of the Shan State.

Kengtung, like other major towns in the Shan Plateau, was home to a Shan Saopha. Kengtung was the base of the Kengtung Sawbwanate, and had a Sawbwa palace, built by Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng in 1905.

The city was occupied by the Thai Phayap Army from 1942 until the end of the Second World War.

It is home to the Kyaingtong Degree College.

Geography

Kengtung contains several lakes. The largest, Naung Tung Lake, lies in the western part of the city, followed by Naung Kham Lake and Naung Yarng Lake to the south of the Kentung Roman Catholic Mission.

Climate

Climate data for Kengtung
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	26.7 (80.1)	29.2 (84.6)	32.0 (89.6)	33.0 (91.4)	32.3 (90.1)	30.4 (86.7)	29.6 (85.3)	29.4 (84.9)	29.6 (85.3)	28.7 (83.7)	27.2 (81.0)	25.7 (78.3)	29.48 (85.07)
Average low °C (°F)	9.6 (49.3)	10.8 (51.4)	14.0 (57.2)	18.2 (64.8)	21.2 (70.2)	22.1 (71.8)	21.7 (71.1)	21.5 (70.7)	20.6 (69.1)	18.6 (65.5)	15.2 (59.4)	11.0 (51.8)	17.04 (62.68)
Precipitation mm (inches)	16.0 (0.63)	8.0 (0.315)	16.0 (0.63)	43.0 (1.693)	160.0 (6.299)	175.0 (6.89)	236.0 (9.291)	243.0 (9.567)	171.0 (6.732)	128.0 (5.039)	79.0 (3.11)	23.0 (0.906)	1,298 (51.1)
Source: HKO

See also

• Kengtung Airport
• Kengtung Township
• Kengtung District

Bibliography

• J. G. Scott, Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900-1901.
• Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The Pādaeng Chronicle and the Kengtung State Chronicle Translated. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1981

External links

• The Happy City, a 1959 film on a remote leper colony run by Father Cesare Columbo in Kengtung, Shan State
• pictures from Kengtung