Burma: Haw Muslim man and in the mosque at Tachilek, Shan State, Burma

Almost every town in Burma with a Panthay population has its 'Panthay Balee' or Chinese Muslim mosque. Some of the more important are in Rangoon, Taunggyi, Mogok, Myitkyina, and Lashio.

The rugged, indomitable Chinese muleteers known to the Burmese as Panthay, and to the Thai and Lao as Haw or Chin Haw, were—and to some extent still are—the masters of the Golden Triangle. Certainly they were the traders par excellence, penetrating into the remotest reaches of forbidden territory such as the Wa States, whilst at the same time their mule caravans, laden with everything from precious stones and jade to opium and copper pans, traded as far as Luang Prabang in Laos, Moulmein in Burma, Dali and Kunming in Yunnan, and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

Tachilek is a border town in eastern Burma. It marks an important border point with Thailand.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia