Map - Houaphanh Province (Houaphan)

Houaphanh Province (Houaphan)
Houaphanh province (Laotian: ຫົວພັນ ; Romanization of Lao: Houaphan) is a province in eastern Laos. Its capital is Xam Neua.

Houaphanh province covers an area of 16500 km2. The province is bordered by Vietnam to the north, east, and southeast, Xiangkhouang province to the south and southwest, and Luang Prabang province to the west. The terrain is rugged, with dense, forested mountains forming much of the province, particularly on the western side. The main road running through the province is Route 6. The principal rivers are the Nam Ma, which flows from and into Vietnam, passing the village of Ban Muang-Et, and the Nam Sam, on which the towns of Sam Neua and Sam Tai lie.

The province is the home to the Viengxay caves, an extensive network of caves used by the Pathet Lao, and the Hintang Archaeological Park, one of the most important pre-historic sites in northern Laos, dotted with standing megaliths.

Houaphanh is one of the poorest areas of Laos, but has dramatic scenery and fine textile traditions.

The province, along with Xiangkhoang, was part of the Muang Phuan Kingdom (Vietnamese: Bồn Man) since the 14th century. Following a Vietnamese invasion in 1478 led by King Lê Thánh Tông, it became Trấn Ninh Territory of the Đại Việt Kingdom with the capital at Sầm Châu (present-day Xam Neua). The area was known as Hua Phan Tang Ha Tang Hok, 'the fifth and the sixth province", and listed by Auguste Pavie as "Hua Panh, Tang-Ha, Tang-Hoc." The provincial capital was at present-day Muong Het.

The Lê Duy Mật rebels ruled the area from 1739 to 1770. In 1802, Emperor Gia Long of the newly founded Nguyễn dynasty ceded the region to the Kingdom of Vientiane. However, in the aftermath of the Lao rebellion, Chao Nôy, the prince ruler of Muang Phuan, who earlier sided with the Siamese, was executed by the Vietnamese. Emperor Minh Mạng of Vietnam reannexed the territory in 1828.

It remained a Vietnamese outpost territory until 1893 when ownership was switched by French authorities back to Laos during the French colonial period. Under the French spelling, the province was usually Hua Phan.

The province is home to the Viengxay caves, an extensive network of caves used by the Pathet Lao. Numerous caves in the province served as hideouts for important figures in the Laos in the 1950s and 1960s. Tham Than Souphanouvong Cave was the hideout of the revolutionary leader and later the President, Souphanouvong, who built a base there in 1964. Revolutionary leader and later the President Kaysone Phomvihane hid out in Tham Than Kaysone Cave from 1964, and later President Khamtay Siphandone hid at Tham Than Khamtay Cave from 1964. He established a base there, with meeting rooms, reception rooms, and a research room.

Houaphanh province was noted for its samana ('re-education') camps. The Lao royal family were believed to have been taken to one such camp near Sop Hao in 1977. Crown Prince Say Vong Savang allegedly died at the camp in May 1978, followed by his father, King Savang Vatthana, of starvation 11 days later.

Religious minorities often face persecution in the province, and at the end of 1999 numerous minorities were arrested. 
Map - Houaphanh Province (Houaphan)
Country - Laos
Flag of Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire Lao), is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Because of its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms: Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A post-independence civil war began, which saw the communist resistance, supported by the Soviet Union, fight against the monarchy that later came under influence of military regimes supported by the United States. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war. Laos was then dependent on military and economic aid from the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.
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