Laukkai is the capital of Kokang

Kokang

Kokang , formally the First Special Region, is a self-administrative region of Burma . It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and it shares a border with China's Yunnan Province in the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai...

 (also known as Special Region 1) in the northern part of Shan State

Shan State

Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...

, Burma. It is situated on the Salween River

Salween River

The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...

, which forms Burma's border with the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It is about 10 miles away from Nansan

Nansan

Nansan Town is a town under the jurisdiction of Zhenkang County, Lincang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China.-References:* - Nansan Town, Zhenkang New Rural Digital Information Network...

 (Chinese character

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

s: 南傘), China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. In Laukkai, the Southwestern dialect of Mandarin

Southwestern Mandarin

Southwestern Mandarin , also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin , is a primary branch of Mandarin Chinese spoken by Han Chinese people throughout many regions of central and southwestern China, such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the western part of Hunan, the northern...

 and Chinese characters are widely used, and the Chinese renminbi

Renminbi

The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...

 is in circulation. it is the principal town of Laukkaing Township

Laukkaing Township

Laukkaing Township is a township of Laukkaing District in the Shan State of Burma. The principal town is Laukkai aka Laukkaing.The township is sharing border with Kongyan Township and People's Republic of China in the north, People's Republic of China in the east, Kunlong Township in the south and...

 of Laukkaing District

Laukkaing District

Laogai District is a district of the Shan State in Myanmar. It consists 2 towns and 333 villages.It is Kokang self Administered Zone according to Myanmar Constitution .-Townships:The district contains the following townships:...

. it is 117 miles and 7 furlongs from Lashio

Lashio

Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...

 and 42 miles from Kongyan.

Its annual rainfall is over 40 inches.

It is a center of fighting in the August 2009 Kokang incident

Kokang incident

The Kokang incident was a violent conflict or series of skirmishes that broke out in August 2009 in the Kokang Special Region in Burma's northern Shan State...

; on 24 August, it was occupied by Tatmadaw troops (Burma's military junta

Military junta

A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...

).