Introduction
This article is about the town. For the district, see Kengtung District. For the township, see Kengtung Township. For the former state, see Kengtung State.
City in Shan State, MyanmarKengtung
ဝဵင်းၵဵင်းတုင် (Shan)ကျိုင်းတုံမြို့ (Burmese)ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᨲᩩᨦ (Khün)เชียงตุง (Thai)KyaingtongCityKengtungLocation in MyanmarCoordinates: 21°17′30″N 99°36′30″E / 21.29167°N 99.60833°E / 21.29167; 99.60833Country MyanmarState Shan StateDistrictKengtung DistrictTownshipKengtung TownshipFirst Settlement of Kengtungc. 1800s CEArea • Total3,506 km2 (1,354 sq mi)Elevation827 m (2,713 ft)Population (2014) • Total171,620 • Density48.955/km2 (126.79/sq mi)DemonymKeng TungiteTime zoneUTC+6.30 (MMT)
Kengtung (Shan: ဝဵင်းၵဵင်းတုင် [weŋ˥ keŋ˥ tuŋ˨˦], Thai: เชียงตุง), also spelt Kyaingtong (Burmese: ကျိုင်းတုံမြို့, MLCTS: kyuing: tum mrui.; [tɕáɪɰ̃ tòʊɰ̃ mjo̰]), classical name Tungapuri, is a city in Shan State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the principal town of Kengtung Township and the former seat of Kengtung State, a minor principality. Kengtung is located on the National Highway 4 (NH4) and at the AH2 and AH3 of the Asian Highway. It is also the largest city and the capital of eastern Shan State, Myanmar.
Etymology
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Owing to Kengtung's proximity to China and Thailand, the city is known by a number of exonyms and endonyms. The endonym used by Tai Khun and Tai Lue-speaking locals is Jeng Tung (ᨾᩮᩨ᩠ᨦᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᨲᩩᨦ) respectively. Other Shan speakers use the exonym Kengtung. The most common exonym, Kyaingtong, is derived from the Burmese approximation of Kengtung. The exonym of Chiang Tung (Thai: เชียงตุง, RTGS: Chiang Tung [t͡ɕʰīa̯ŋ tūŋ]) is used by Thai speakers, while Chinese speakers use Jingdong (simplified Chinese: 景栋; traditional Chinese: 景棟; pinyin: Jǐngdòng).
History
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Main article: Kengtung State
Kengtung town shop
The early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. The oral tradition of the [Tai people] says that the ancient city of Kengtung was founded in the distant past by Tai Lue as the original inhabitants of the region, and was later reestablished by the grandson of King Mangrai after defeating the Tai Lue. This migration of the Chiang Mai dynasty in the 13th century, with the founding a new kingdom which was later named Lanna, has resulted in Kengtung having a different type of Tai population from the rest of the Shan State, the Tai Khün.
Kengtung, like other major towns in the Shan Plateau, was home to a Shan Saopha (Sawbwa). Kengtung was the capital of the Kengtung State. In 1905, Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng built the Kengtung Palace.
The city was seized and occupied by the Thai Phayap Army from 1942 until the end of the Second World War and became the headquarters of the Saharat Thai Doem territory. The headquarters of the regional military command of the Tatmadaw is in the town.
The aerial view of Kyaing Tong central market. One Tree Hill (Thit Ta Pin Taung in Myanmar) at the background.
