Laos

Important Cities

Vientiane(Capital)
Phongsali
Louangnamtha
Xam Nua
Louangphrabang
Xaingkhoang
Muang Khammouan
Savannakhet
Salavan
Pakxe
Champasak

Main Attractions

That Luang
Buddha Park, Vientiane
Wat Si Muang, Vientiane
Luang Prabang
Hin Khana Waterfalls, Vientiane
Lao National Museum
Tham Ting Cave

Main Industries

Tourism
Timber
Agricultural Processing
Tin
Garments
Constructions

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked socialist republic communist state in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west.
Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, founded in the 14th century, which lasted until the 18th century, when Siam invaded and assumed control of the separate principalities that remained.
Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia and the thickly forested landscape consists mostly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia at 9,242 feet (2,817m), with some plains and plateaus.
Laos was a low-key French protectorate, known as the land of the lotus-eaters, where an indolent lifestyle prevailed.
Laos became a pawn of the superpowers, with Hmong tribesmen trained by CIA agents, Thai mercenaries fighting for the Royal Lao government, and the Pathet Lao receiving help from the Chinese, the Russians, and the Vietminh.
During the Vietnam War, Laos was effectively partitioned into four spheres of influence: the Chinese in the north, the Vietnamese along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the east, the Thais in western areas controlled by the US-backed Royal Lao Government, and the Khmer Rouge operating from parts of the south.
Laos' population was estimated at 5.7 million in 2004, dispersed unevenly across the country.
Laos was not granted full sovereignty until the French defeat by the Vietnamese and the subsequent Geneva peace conference in 1954.
For nearly a decade, Laos was subjected to extremely heavy bombing as the U.S. sought to destroy the portion of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that passed through eastern Laos.
The People's Democratic Republic of Lao is located in the center of Indochina, sharing borders with china to the north, Myanmar to the northwest, Thailand to the west, Cambodia to the south, and Vietnam to the east.