Xam Neua

Official name	Xamneua
Other name	Sam Neua, Samneua
Native name	ຊຳເໜືອ
Settlement type
Dot x	|dot_y =
Pushpin map	Laos
Pushpin label position	bottom
Pushpin map caption	Location in Laos
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Admin. division
Subdivision name1	Houaphan Province
Leader title1
Established title
Established title2
Established title3
Unit pref	Imperial
Area total km2
Area land km2
Population as of	2002
Population total	46,800
Population blank1 title	Ethnicities
Population blank2 title	Religions
Population blank2	Buddhism
Coordinates type	region:LA-HO_type:city
Coordinates display	inline, title
Elevation footnotes
Postal code type

Xam Neua (ຊຳເໜືອ ; sometimes transcribed as Sam Neua or Samneua; literally "northern swamp") is the capital city of Houaphan Province, Laos, located in the northeast of the country. Xam Neua is one of the country's least visited provincial capitals by Western tourists.

Demographics

Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese and Hmong, along with some Tai Dam, Tai Daeng and Tai Lu. The predominant language is Lao with minorities of Vietnamese and Hmong. French is still spoken by a minority of people as a legacy of the French colonial era and is learnt by younger populations and used in public works and government.

Tourism

Several guesthouses are located in Xam Neua. There are irregular flights into/from Vientiane to Xam Neua (the airport's name is Nathon); presently operated by Lao Capricorn; see http://www.laocapricornair.net/schedule.php.

Facts

Xam Neua is located in a valley in the Houaphan Province. In the early morning hours women wash clothes in the river flowing through the city. An elementary school is located near the main bridge crossing this river. At 5:45 am and pm each day there are public addresses from loudspeakers atop a tower on the school playground, expounding on the communist life and philosophy. These addresses are usually accompanied by Lao music. It is reputed there is a Communist re-education center located in Xam Neua, and that it was the Pathet Lao capital during the Secret War Battle of Lima Site 85 (LS-85) 11 March 1968. It is near the Pathet Lao refuges in the Viengxay caves, which the Lao government hopes to promote as a tourism destination similar to the Củ Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and the Killing Fields Memorial near Phnom Penh in Cambodia. It is also near the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area, (pronounced “naam et poo loo-ee”).

References

Category:Populated places in Houaphanh Province