Laos' largest province, Savannakhet Province
Savannakhet is a province in south-central Laos and is the largest province in Laos. It borders the provinces of Kam Mon, to the north, to the east of Quang Jeek and Hue provinces, to the south of SalaWan province, and to the west of Nakhon Phanom and Muk Dahan Thai provinces. The second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connects the Mekong River in Morakh province of Thailand with the Lao province of Savannakhet. It has an area of 21,774 square kilometers and a population of 521,500.
Savannakhet Province is divided into two main areas: plains account for 59% and plateaus account for 41%.
The Mekong coastal plain covers four regions rich in rice, fish and fodder as a source of rice, legumes and livestock (poultry, large animals and fish).
The highland area is one of the main tobacco producing areas in Lao pledging. It has numerous natural resources. Xépôn is home to the largest mine in Laos, with copper and gold reserves.
Savannakhet City, with a population of 125,760, is the second largest city in the old country. It is an important trading post between Thailand and Vietnam.
The prehistoric human occupation can be attested to from the earliest stone tools in the province, which date back between 100,000 and 12,000 years. 2000 BC. At that time the area was the center of the Kingdom of SikonTapong. The highly revered Pha That Sikhottabong Stupa is located in a 19th-century monastery in Thakhek.
Sikhottabong was an important kingdom in ancient Indochina. Its capital is in the northwestern part of the province, now the village of Meuang Kabong, located on the east bank of the Banghiang River, about 10 kilometers east of the Mekong River. The Khmer Empire found sites in Xuan An Xuan dating back to 553 and 700 CE. In the 20th century, Savannakhet province was one of the seats of the struggle for independence. Prime Minister Cayson Ponwehan originated in the province. During the Franco-Thai War, the town was bombed and then occupied by the Thai armed forces. During the Vietnam War, the eastern part of the province was crossed by the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was heavily bombed by U.S. troops and loyalists. Some areas remain under threat of unexploded ordnance.
Protected areas of the province include the Xe Bang Nouan National Biodiversity Reserve in the south, ou Xang He boasts rocky mountains and is known for its local Putai culture. Dong Fu Rong, famous for its ancient forests, where the vegetation is dense and there is a sacred lake, where there are endangered Eld's deer, silver langurs and hornbills, which are rare in other protected areas.
Savannakhet has a population of 125,760 in 15 districts. Like all the cities in laos, Savannakhet has a mixed population of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China, as well as its inland ethnic minorities.
Located about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Vientiane, the Sepon Mine is the largest mine in the old country, with copper and gold reserves. They panned for gold here with shrapnel and plane wreckage.
In addition to the provincial capital being a trading center opposite the thai town of Mukhdahan, other attractions include Roman Catholic Church, Vietnamese temples and schools. Most of the buildings are in the French architectural style of the colonial period. There is a library containing manuscripts written on palm fronds in Both Khampari and Lao, which is said to be 200 years old. In the village of Ban Tangvay in the Xonbuly district, bones from dinosaur fossils found in 1930 are on display at the Dinosaur Gallery in Savannakhet. The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the wreckage of U.S. tanks and warplanes are on display in the Flynn section of Highway 9 near the Laos border checkpoint.
There are five fossil sites in the area. The most famous fossil site in the Cretaceous period is Tang Vay, 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Savannahout, 110 million years ago.
