Kyaing Tong

Kyaing Tong

Kengtung Township (Burmese: က်ဳိင္းတုံ; also spelled Kyaingtong, Kengtong ) is a township of Kengtung District in the Shan State of Burma. The principal town is Kengtung. It lies almost entirely east of the Salween River and its area is over 12,000 square miles (31,000 km2). It is bounded on the north by the states of Mang Lon, Mong Lem and Keng Hung (Hsip Hsawng Pannh); east by the Mekong River, south by the Siamese Shan States, and west in a general way by the Salween River, though it overlaps it in some places. The state is known to the Chinese as Mhng Khng, and was frequently called by the Burmese the 32 cities of the Gn (HkOn). The classical name of the state is Khemarata or Khemarata Tungkapuri.

Geography and Climate

Kengtung is the largest, most mountainous, most easterly, and culturally the farthest from the Burmese, of all the Shan States. Geography makes approach to it from the rest of Burma difficult for it lies not only beyond the Salween across which no bridge has been built and whose eastern tributaries have cut no easy routes through the serried north-south ranges, but nearer again to the Mekong than to the Salween.

About 63% of the area lies in the basin of the Mekong River and 37% in the Salween drainage area. The watershed is a high and generally continuous range. Some of its peaks rise to over 7,000 ft (2,100 m)., and the elevation is nowhere much below 5,000 ft (1,500 m). Parallel to this successive hill ranges run north and south with mountainous country predominating.

Kengtung, the capital, is situated towards the southern end of a valley about 12 miles (19 km) long and with an average breadth of 7 miles (11 km). The town is surrounded by a brick wall and moat about 5 miles (8.0 km) round. Only the central and northern portions are much built over. In the dry season crowds attend the market held according to Shan custom every five days, and numerous caravans come from China. The plain in which the capital stands has an altitude of 3,000 ft (910 m).

The rainfall probably averages between 50 and 60 inches (1.5 m) for the year. The temperature seems to rise to nearly 100 F. during the hot weather, falling 30 or more during the night. In the cold weather a temperature of 40 F. or a few degrees more or less appears to be the lowest experienced.