Kaysone Phomvihane (population 120,000), often referred to as
Savannakhet City is the capital of the
Savannakhet ProvinceSavannakhét is a province of Laos. The name Savannakhet derives from Savanh Nakhone, which means "city of paradise", the province's original name. This province is located in the south of the country...
in
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, previously known as
Khanthabouli (ຄັນທະບູລີ). Kaysone Phomvihane is the second-largest city in Laos, after
VientianeVientiane is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area is believed to be over 730,000...
. The city is birthtown of
Kaysone PhomvihaneKaysone Phomvihane was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955, though Souphanouvong served in a figurehead role...
, former president of Laos, and was named after him in 2005. Although the old French colonial quarter of the town, along the Mekong River-front, is depressed and crumbling, the town's proximity to Thailand's booming economy has brought about new commercial development in the northern part of the town, near both the river crossing and the bus terminal.
Like all Lao cities, Kaysone Phomvihane has a mixed population of Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as minority peoples from the Lao interior.
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Kaysone Phomvihane (population 120,000), often referred to as
Savannakhet City is the capital of the
Savannakhet ProvinceSavannakhét is a province of Laos. The name Savannakhet derives from Savanh Nakhone, which means "city of paradise", the province's original name. This province is located in the south of the country...
in
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, previously known as
Khanthabouli (ຄັນທະບູລີ). Kaysone Phomvihane is the second-largest city in Laos, after
VientianeVientiane is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area is believed to be over 730,000...
. The city is birthtown of
Kaysone PhomvihaneKaysone Phomvihane was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955, though Souphanouvong served in a figurehead role...
, former president of Laos, and was named after him in 2005. Although the old French colonial quarter of the town, along the Mekong River-front, is depressed and crumbling, the town's proximity to Thailand's booming economy has brought about new commercial development in the northern part of the town, near both the river crossing and the bus terminal.
Like all Lao cities, Kaysone Phomvihane has a mixed population of Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as minority peoples from the Lao interior. It has a large 15th century Buddhist temple, Wat Sainyaphum, a Chinese temple, a Catholic church and a mosque. The
Second Thai–Lao Friendship BridgeThe Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong connects Mukdahan Province in Thailand with Savannakhet in Laos. The bridge is 1600 meters long and 12 meters wide, with two traffic lanes....
over the
MekongThe Mekong River is one of the world’s major rivers. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. . Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of ....
connects to
Mukdahan ProvinceMukdahan is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Roi Et, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom. To the east it borders the Mekong River, across which lies Savannakhet Province of Laos.-Geography:The province is located in the...
in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
. The two-lane, wide, long bridge, opened to the general public on January 9, 2007.
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