Thakhek
Encyclopedia
Thakhek is a town in south-central Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

 on the Mekong River and facing Nakhon Phanom
Nakhon Phanom
Nakhon Phanom is a town in northeastern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Phanom Province. The town covers the whole tambon Nai Mueang and Nong Saeng and parts of tambon At Samat and Nong Yat, all of Mueang Nakhon Phanom district...

 across the river in northeastern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. It is the capital of Khammouane province.

The city has many French colonial style official buildings, villas and shops. Western scientists first encountered the Laotian rock rat - kha-nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus) in Thakhek's market. Remnants of the abortive Thakhek - Tan Ap railway can be seen in and near the town. The railway would have run between Thakhek
Thakhek
Thakhek is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River and facing Nakhon Phanom across the river in northeastern Thailand. It is the capital of Khammouane province....

 and Tan Ap Railway Station
Tan Ap Railway Station
Tan Ap Railway Station is a railway station on the North-South Railway line in Vietnam. It serves the town of Tân Ấp in Quang Binh Province. From 1933, the station also served as a terminus of the Tan Ap - Xom Cuc railway, the only stretch of railway opened as part of the aborted Thakhek - Tan Ap...

, Quang Binh Province
Quang Binh Province
Quảng Bình , formerly Tiên Bình under the reign of Le Trung Hung of the Lê Dynasty, this province was renamed Quảng Bình in 1604) is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam....

, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 through the Mu Gia Pass
Mu Gia Pass
The Mu Gia Pass is a mountain pass in the Annamite Range between northern Vietnam and Laos, located 90 km northwest of Đồng Hới, Vietnam. The pass is 418 m above sea level and connects Route 15 from Tân Ấp in Vietnam to Route 12 in Khammouane Province in Laos....

.

Construction of the Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge
Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge
The Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong is a bridge that connects Nakhon Phanom Province in Thailand with Thakhek, Khammouane in Laos. The bridge's foundation stone was laid on March 6, 2009, and it opened for traffic on November 11, 2011...

, linking Thakhek to Nakhon Phanom, started in 2009 and is expected to be commemorated on 11/11/11.

The population is 35,000 people according to 2006 census data.

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