Kengtung or Kyaing Tong, the unique and isolated corner of Myanmar and the largest town in eastern Shan State, situated 456km northest of Taunggyi and 787 m above sea level. At one time Kyaing Tong was the Shan capital and this ancient city is the gateway to rugged journeys and exotic sights. Surrounded by Wa, Shan, Akha and Lahu villages, Mountains and remained with decaying colonial-style building, Kengtung is the most scenic town in Myanmar. Kyaing Tong is known for its scenic beauty and many colorful ethnic tribes. Places of interest around Kyaingtong are, the Spa, Naung Tong Lake, Sunn Taung Monastery, Central market and Traditional Lacquer ware works and weaving factory.
There are many villages of various ethnic tribes resided around Kyaing Tong. The tribes known as Gon, Lwe, Li, Wa, Lah Hu, Thai Nay, Shan, Li Shaw, Li Su, Palaung, Akha, and we can only differentiate the tribes by colourful dresses which is different to one another. These ethnic tribes had surprisingly preserved their ancient customs and traditions as well as their unique and colorful dresses up to now and many can be seen in the marketplace where they come to do their shopping every morning.
In the uttermost east of Myanmar, nestled at 3000 feet in a valley of green rice fields ringed by wooded hills, lies Kyaing Tong (Kentung), probably the most scenic and atmospheric town in the country. It can be reached by air, on Myanmar’s domestic flight network, or by a two-hour drive from the Thai border at Mae Sai. Kyaing Tong is a crossroads of cultural exchange and of trade, both licit and illicit. In addition to its proximity to Thailand, Kyaing Tong lays a mere two-hour drive to the Chinese border crossing at Mong La, or to the Mekhong River, with Laos on its opposite bank.
Kyaing Tong is an ancient town, continuously inhabited for 800 years or more by the Shan, the Khun and the Thai Lue peoples who still today comprise the majority of the area’s population. The Thai Lue are Shan people, with a script of their own. The Khun speak a Northern Thai Language related to Shan, and use a script similar to the ancient Lanna script of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Shan, rather than Burmese, remains the lingua franca of the area today, heard everywhere on the streets of the town and in surrounding villages. Throughout most of its history as the capital of an independent kingdom, Kyaing Tong has seen neighbouring empires rise and fall and foreign armies and colonial powers come and go, perhaps even today harbouring dreams of its former freedom.
In Kyaing Tong, you will be able to observe the different ethnic minority communities and the traditional culture of ancient Shan by visiting around the surrounding areas. This place is also the famous trekking place in Shan State. You will be able to observe the traditional architecture with the old-style houses with wooden balconies so characteristic of Shan architecture and the different ethnic minority communities of the Golden Triangle like the red clothed Palaung tribe, the Akha people or the Lahu tribe.
All of the hill-tribes in Kengtung still live very traditional lives but friendly welcome visitors. Can observe their tribal dances and their way of living on these mountainous regions around Kyaing Tong.
Kyaing Tong is also, despite its ancestry, a small town, built around a small lake, and dotted with aging Buddhist temples and crumbling colonial architecture. The town is easily explored on foot, and to wander its curved and dusty streets is to take a journey back in time. At night, with twinkling stars clearly visible overhead even in the downtown areas and with plaintive guitar music drifting through the streets, there is a mediaeval feel to the town. By day lacquer ware and silver artisans ply their trade in its roadside shops and its markets are a daily festival of abundant produce and ethnic diversity. Its soil is fertile, with flowers blooming in abundance in the gardens of the town, and a wide variety of fruit orchards lying around its perimeter, as well as rubber plantations.
Kyaing Tong’s elevation spares it from the worst of the summer heat, while its winters are mild compared with the more mountainous regions of Shan State. The Shan New Year, usually falling in early December, is celebrated in a big way in Kyaing Tong, with festivals of song and dance, talent shows and beauty competitions. The Burmese New Year of Thingyan, in April, is also celebrated with enthusiasm. In Kyaing Tong this celebration includes a three-day "beating of the drum" in which the young men of the town, fuelled by local spirit, beat on an ancient drum of buffalo hide: the ceremony climaxes with the drum being carried in procession to a nearby shallow river, where most of the population, from matrons to monks, plunge into the waters and douse each other with wild abandon.
The hills around the town are home to Akha, Wa and Lahu people, as well as the majority Shan people of the region. Many treks are possible to their villages, in the hill country leading to the Chinese and Lao borders, and these can be of several hours or several days duration. In the recent past much of this hill country was an insurgent area, off limits to foreigners; those days now are gone, the hills are planted with tea, and buyers from China are frequently encountered. The Akha men encountered in the hills will most commonly be seen with a homemade musket slung across their shoulders, and perhaps with a rabbit or game bird dangling from their belt. In many of the Thai Lue villages, communities still live in longhouses, each with its own cooking and sleeping area partitioned off by dangling cloth, while pigs and chickens forage below the house. In these longhouses tea and meat are cured and cheroots are smoked; a clear day is one with visibility from one end of the house to the other.
INTERESTING PLACES IN KYAING TONG
Kyaing Tong Central Market
The Market is located in downtown Kyaing Tong, which is the ancient capital of eastern Shan State. The Market brings down from the surrounding mountains many ethnic villagers wearing their traditional dresses. A visit to the main Kyaing Tong Market is much recommended to see colorful ethnic tribes come to exchange goods from their home in the surrounding hills.
Loi Mwe Catholic Church
This Church was built in 1929. You can experience sightseeing of Loi Mwe Lake in the surrounding of Loi Mwe village.
Akha Village
Most of the Akha tribes are living in Kyaing Tong. There are small villages such as Ho Kyin, Nan Phi Phank, Pang Ma Phai, situated about 50 minutes’ drive from Kyaing Tong. The morning market in the centre of town features a colourful mixture of ethnic groups selling local grown products.
Akhu Village
Akhu Village is located at Hokyin Mountain, about one and half hour’s drive up from Kyaing Tong. Continue upwards to visit Akhas’ villages where they stay together harmoniously.
Buffalo Market
The Buffalo Market is situated on the left side of the road leaving Kyaing Tong for Taunggyi. This market is unique for buying and selling of the hardy buffaloes used for farming and transportation and also for meat and milk.
Eng Village
Nant Lin Taung is a hilly village resided by Eng nationals. Only 13 miles (21km) from the north of Kyaing Tong in Eastern Shan State in Myanmar. The Eng Nationals have a love for black teeth and tobacco chewing and they earn their living by farming and hunting.
Golden Triangle Golf Club
Golden Triangle Golf Club has 18 holes with total range of 6554 yards and is located on the mountain side just on the outskirt of Kyaing Tong – the City of the East.
Gon Shan Village
It is located about 20 minutes’ drive from Kyaing Tong. You can reach Gon Shan village and see remarkable long houses.
Kabar Aye Pagoda
The Pagoda was built during 11th Century and located 21km east of Kyaing Tong, the capital city of the Golden Triangle Region. In dedication to “World Peace“, the Pagoda is also named Kaba Aye.
Loi Mwe Village
It takes about one and half hour drive from Kyaing Tong. The hill top place is filled with peaceful surroundings and you can have a look at old British Colonial Governor’s Houses and old churches. You can also see many hillside cultivations surrounding Loi Mwe village.
Maha Myat Muni Pagoda (Wat Pra Sao Loang)
The Maha Myat Muni image was cast in Mandalay by Kyaing Tong Sawbwa in 1908 and donated here in 1923. The Pagoda is just around the corner from the New Kyaing Tong Hotel. The Pagoda Festival is held annually in November. Its atmosphere is tranquil and ideal for meditation and praying.
Wa Villages (Golden Triangle Region)
Wa villages are situated in Kyaing Tong Township of the eastern Shan State. This area is known for its great trekking experience to villages of many colorful ethnic tribes including the Wa nationals.
Wan Nyet Village & Monastery
It takes about two and half hours to drive from Kyaing Tong, and Wan Nyet village can be reached within 2 hours on foot. An old Wat or Monastery of the Loi (also called Lwe) was built here over 385 years ago, where impressive woodworks of the ethnic nationals are tourist attractions.
Wan Seng Village & Monastery
Wan Seng Monastery is situated in Wan Seng Village of Kyaing Tong. It is an ancient monastery, uniquely beautiful and different from the other monasteries.
Wan Seng is one of the two Loi (Lwe) villages, about 2 hours by car from Kyaing Tong. About 7 to 10 families (total 10 to 25 people in-cluding children) live in one longhouse. They have a separate fireplace in the main corridor, where they cook and store dried/smoked meat, and there is a small room for each family.
Wat Inn Monastery
Wat Inn Monastery is situated in Kyaing Tong. The monastery has a fine collection of Shan-style Buddha images. The temple walls and ceilings are decorated with gold leaves depicting Buddha’s stories, folk tales amid beautiful floral designs.
Yat Taw Mu Buddha Image
Yat Taw Mu Buddha or the Standing Buddha Image, is situated on Son-sah as Jom-rak hill in Kyaing Tong, Shan State. The Standing Buddha was built in 1997, having a height of 67ft (20m) from head to toe. The Buddha image is in the pointing position which means Lord Buddha is making a prophecy.
Yat Taw Mu Buddha Image
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