Lashio

With a history dating back to the Shan princes of Myanmar, this northern town sits on a mountain ridge overlooking the pretty Yaw River Valley. It is hard to believe that this unassuming little Burmese town north of Mandalay had once served a strategic purpose against the Axis powers during the Second World War! The crucial land link through Burma Road that carried food and supplies to the Kuomintang army in China actually began from Lashio. The Chinese still continue to form a major part of the population of this busy and colorful Burmese market town. Today, however, it primarily serves as the nearest airport for global travelers headed to the sleepy little hill town of Hsipaw.