Lashio

The British colonial period in this part of the country began in 1887, and the Myanmar Railways line from Mandalay reached Lashio in 1903.

Before British rule Lashio was also the centre of authority for the northern Shan States, but the Burmese post in the valley was close to the Nam Yao, in an old Chinese fortified camp. The Lashio valley was formerly very populous; but a rebellion, started by the sawbwa of Hsenwi, about ten years before the British occupation, ruined it.

In 1900, the town of Lashio consisted of the European station, with court house and quarters for the civil officers; the military police post, the headquarters of the Lashio battalion of military police; and the native station, in which the various nationalities, Shans, Burmans, Hindus and Muslims, who were divided into separate quarters, with reserves for government servants and for the temporary residences of the five sawbwas of the northern Shan States; and a bazaar.

Lashio became important during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II as the Burmese terminus of the Burma Road. In World War II, Lashio was taken by the Japanese on April 29, 1942 and liberated by the Allies on March 7, 1945.{{cite news|last=Ferrie |first=Jared |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-violence-idUSBRE94S0JD20130529 |title=Buddhist mobs attack Muslim homes in Myanmar, one dead |newspaper=Reuters |date= 2013-05-29|access-date=2014-02-25}}

During Operation 1027 of the Myanmar Civil War, the town was surrounded by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and other rebel forces who took towns around Lashio, although fighting did not immediately take place in the town itself. Many people displaced from fighting elsewhere fled to Laisho for safety.{{Cite web |date=4 January 2024 |title=Surrounded Myanmar Junta Troops Shell Civilians, Blow Bridges in Lashio |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/surrounded-myanmar-junta-troops-shell-civilians-blow-bridges-in-lashio.html |website=The Irrawaddy}} After the ceasefire that ended the operation collapsed, the MNDAA and its allies launched a renewed attack to seize the town, culminating in the Battle of Lashio, where rebel forces were victorious.{{Cite web |date=3 July 2024 |title=Myanmar's MNDAA Launches Offensive to Seize Northern Shan Capital |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/myanmars-mndaa-launches-offensive-to-seize-northern-shan-capital.html |website=The Irrawaddy}} On 20 January 2025, the MNDAA and the junta agreed to a Chinese-brokered ceasefire, with several sources claiming that a withdraw of the former from Lashio was a condition for the deal. However, neither the junta nor the MNDAA has revealed any details of the deal. [https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/kokang-army-to-withdraw-from-lashio-under-chinese-brokered-ceasefire-with-myanmar-junta/ Kokang army to withdraw from Lashio under Chinese-brokered ceasefire with Myanmar junta] Myanmar Now. January 20, 2025

On 18 April 2025, SAC-appointed officials, Myanmar Police Force officers, and other civil servants began arriving into Lashio city itself as the MNDAA withdrew. The officials promised to reinstate the SAC administration by the 21st of April. [https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/junta-appointed-officials-move-into-lashio-after-mndaa-withdrawal/ Junta-appointed officials move into Lashio after MNDAA withdrawal]. Myanmar Now. April 18, 2025. [https://myanmar-now.org/mm/news/62963/ လားရှိုးမြို့ထဲ စစ်ကောင်စီဌာနဆိုင်ရာဝန်ထမ်းများ စတင်ဝင်ရောက် ]. Myanmar Now. April 18, 2025.

Lashio has a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) according to the Köppen climate classification system, though closely bordering the tropical wet and dry climate (Aw), marked by heavy rains from May to October.

The annual rainfall averages {{convert|54|in|mm}}.

The average maximum temperature is {{convert|27|C|F}} and the average minimum {{convert|13|C|F}} .{{cite web|url=http://www.fallingrain.com/world/BM/11/Lashio.html |title=Maps, Weather, Videos, and Airports for Lashio, Burma |publisher=Fallingrain.com |access-date=2014-02-25}}

Temperatures are generally warm throughout the year, though nights are cool from December to March.

{{Weather box

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Lashio, elevation {{convert|747|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1991–2020)

| Jan record high C = 38.9

| Feb record high C = 33.5

| Mar record high C = 36.5

| Apr record high C = 38.0

| May record high C = 38.1

| Jun record high C = 37.0

| Jul record high C = 34.6

| Aug record high C = 36.0

| Sep record high C = 35.6

| Oct record high C = 34.4

| Nov record high C = 32.4

| Dec record high C = 30.5

|year record high C = 38.9

| Jan record low C = -1.9

| Feb record low C = 1.0

| Mar record low C = 3.0

| Apr record low C = 8.0

| May record low C = 12.5

| Jun record low C = 18.4

| Jul record low C = 20.1

| Aug record low C = 20.0

| Sep record low C = 16.9

| Oct record low C = 8.3

| Nov record low C = 6.0

| Dec record low C = 0.8

|year record low C = -1.9

|Jan high C = 25.8

|Feb high C = 28.3

|Mar high C = 31.5

|Apr high C = 33.0

|May high C = 31.7

|Jun high C = 30.7

|Jul high C = 29.5

|Aug high C = 29.8

|Sep high C = 30.2

|Oct high C = 29.4

|Nov high C = 27.6

|Dec high C = 25.5

| year high C = 29.4

|Jan mean C = 15.8

|Feb mean C = 17.5

|Mar mean C = 21.0

|Apr mean C = 24.3

|May mean C = 25.6

|Jun mean C = 26.3

|Jul mean C = 25.8

|Aug mean C = 25.9

|Sep mean C = 25.6

|Oct mean C = 24.1

|Nov mean C = 20.6

|Dec mean C = 17.1

| year mean C = 22.5

|Jan low C = 5.9

|Feb low C = 6.7

|Mar low C = 10.5

|Apr low C = 15.6

|May low C = 19.5

|Jun low C = 21.9

|Jul low C = 22.1

|Aug low C = 21.9

|Sep low C = 21.1

|Oct low C = 18.9

|Nov low C = 13.6

|Dec low C = 8.8

| year low C = 15.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 11.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 6.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 13.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 51.3

|May precipitation mm = 137.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 184.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 242.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 237.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 191.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 132.5

|Nov precipitation mm = 43.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 10.2

| year precipitation mm = 1263.2

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 1.5

|Feb precipitation days = 0.9

|Mar precipitation days = 2.3

|Apr precipitation days = 7.4

|May precipitation days = 13.5

|Jun precipitation days = 15.7

|Jul precipitation days = 19.3

|Aug precipitation days = 19.7

|Sep precipitation days = 14.1

|Oct precipitation days = 11.0

|Nov precipitation days = 3.4

|Dec precipitation days = 1.4

|year precipitation days = 110.3

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{cite web

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Myanmar/CSV/Lashio_48035.csv

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020

| publisher = World Meteorological Organization

| access-date = 16 October 2023}}

| source 2 = Norwegian Meteorological Institute (extremes){{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181008145507/http://met-xpprod.customer.enonic.io/publikasjoner/met-report/met-report-2017/_/attachment/download/a3bf1468-4e93-486a-aa3f-4bea3871cffa:b8f39ba9ecfbde7d7c6da8ca769f4a1a96d61d39/MyanmarClimateReportFINAL24Oct2017.pdf | archive-date = 8 October 2018 | url = http://met-xpprod.customer.enonic.io/publikasjoner/met-report/met-report-2017/_/attachment/download/a3bf1468-4e93-486a-aa3f-4bea3871cffa:b8f39ba9ecfbde7d7c6da8ca769f4a1a96d61d39/MyanmarClimateReportFINAL24Oct2017.pdf | title = Myanmar Climate Report | publisher = Norwegian Meteorological Institute | pages =23–36 | access-date = 28 October 2018}}

|date=November 2011}}

• Yan Tine Aung Pagoda
• Chinese Temple
• Natural Hot spring
• Sarsana Hill
• Mansu Shan Monastery
• Lashio Night Bazaar
• Hu Mon Dam
• Linnoet (bat) cave
• Ye Kan Thaung

Lashio is located at the end of the Burma Road. Lashio Railway Station is the terminus of the Mandalay–Lashio Railway. It is also the end point of the government cart road from Mandalay, from which it is {{convert|178|mi|km}} distant.

The scenic Goteik viaduct is near Lashio and trains travelling from Mandalay pass over the bridge, which is the highest bridge in Myanmar.

In 2009, a railway link through to Jiegao in China was proposed. In 2011 the proposal was expanded to a link between Kunming and Kyaukphyu. President Thein Sein's signed a memorandum of understanding during his May 2011 visit to Beijing between Myanmar's rail transport ministry and China's state-owned Railway Engineering Corporation to build the railway.[http://www.idsa.in/backgrounder/myanmar-in-chinas-push-into-the-indian-ocean_jmpaul_120316 Myanmar in China’s Push into the Indian Ocean], Joshy M Paul, March 14, 2016, retrieved 20 January 2017

It is the home of Lashio Airport.

Religious sites include the "Sasana (Pyilon Chanta) Pagoda" and the "Mansu Pagoda". Yepusan spa is nearly five miles away from the city center, and is healthful in winter. Other than some ethnic minorities group, Lashio is also a town with a large Chinese population. The most famous Chinese temple in the area is "观音山灵峰寺" where many Chinese people visited during the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). Since 2000, Lashio has been important for border trade between Myanmar and China. {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. It is {{convert|190|km|mi}} from Muse, and is situated midway between Muse and Mandalay.

Sai Mauk Kham, one of the Vice Presidents of Myanmar's democratic government from the 2010 general election, was elected from Lashio constituency.

The town is home to the Lashio University, the Computer University (Lashio),{{cite web |url=http://www.ucsy.edu.mm/lashiocu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 |access-date=May 30, 2011 |title=Archived copy |archive-date=February 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205003939/http://www.geeky.net/geeky.css |url-status=dead }} the Technology University (Lashio),{{cite web |url=http://www.most.gov.mm/lashiotu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17 |title=Technological University (Lashio) - Lashio District |publisher=Most.gov.mm |access-date=2014-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301015711/http://www.most.gov.mm/lashiotu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17 |archive-date=2014-03-01 }} the Education College (Lashio) and the Lashio Nursing School.

File:Lashio.JPG|Lashio skyline

File:Chinese temple觀音寺.JPG|Guanyin Temple (臘戌觀音寺)

File:Lashio gate.JPG|Lashio Gate

File:Nagayon.jpg|Nagayon Pagoda

File:Sudownpyi.JPG|Sutaungpyay Pagoda

File:Lashio sunglow.JPG|Sunset in Lashio

File:Big pool.JPG|Lake in Lashio

• Lashio Airport
• Lashio Township
• Sino-Myanmar pipelines

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• Taipei American Chamber of Commerce; Topics Magazine, Analysis, November 2012. [http://www.amcham.com.tw/content/view/3715/538/ Myanmar: Southeast Asia's Last Frontier for Investment], BY DAVID DUBYNE
• Lashio, April 28, 1942 - Story of War [http://storyofwar.com/2012/04/28/april-28th-1942-last-man-in-to-bat/ 'Last Man in to Bat']

{{Coord|22|56|N| 97|45|E|display=title|region:MM_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}

{{Shan State}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places in Shan State

Category:Township capitals of Myanmar