Bokeo previously, Hua Khong, meaning “Head of the Mekong” is a northern province of Laos. It is the smallest and least populous province in the country. Bokeo Province covers an area of 6,196 square kilometres (2,392 sq mi). Bokeo Province borders Luang Namtha Province to the northeast, Oudomxai Province to the east, Xaiyabouli Province to the south, and Thailand to the southwest and Burma to the west and northwest. The province is part of the “Golden Triangle”, at the crossing with Myanmar and Thailand. There are 34 ethnic groups in the province. Houay Xay is the border town with Thailand and regional economic centre.

The Nam Nga River flows through the province’s Bokeo Nature Reserve and is hemmed between the Mekong River bordering Thailand and Burma and is also along the trade route with China.

The Bokeo Nature Reserve was created as protection for the black crested gibbon (also known as “black-cheeked gibbon”), discovered in 1997, previously thought to be extinct.   Elephants and wild water buffalo migrate through the reserve; bears and tigers are also present.^[12] The protected area, is characterized by a mix-deciduous forest and mountainous terrain (elevation ranging between 500–1500 m). The total area covered by the reserve is 136,000 ha covering the 66,000 ha in Bokeo Province and 70,000 ha in Luang Namtha Province with where critically endangered species of western black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) as the prime species brought under protection. According to a preliminary survey the number of gibbons in Nam Kane is substantial, particularly in and around the uninhabited Nam Kan river and its tributaries. Other than the gibbons the wildlife in the reserve reported are: great barbet; grey-headed parakeet ; grey leaf monkeys ; crab-eating mongoose tiger smaller cats; dhole, bears (two types); otters; sambar ; and wild cattle.

The 10,980 hectare Upper Lao Mekong Important Bird Area (IBA) stretches across the provinces of Bokeo, Oudomxai, and Saiyabuli. The topography features river channel, exposed beds, sandbars, sand and gravel bars, islands, rock outcrops, bushland, and braided streams.

The provincial economy is now dominated by the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GT SEZ)

a de facto Chinese colony in which the only currencies accepted are Chinese yuan and Thai baht. The zone is midwaybetween Houay Xay, the provincial capital, and Tachileik, Myanmar. Kings Romans Group, owned by well-connected Chinese husband and wife Zhao Wei and Su Guiqin, entered into a 99-year lease for 10,000 hectares on the banks of the Mekong. The company was granted 3,000 of these hectares as a duty-free zone, now the SEZ. As gambling is illegal in China, and the SEZ is only a two-hour journey by road from China, casinos and hotels catering to a Chinese clientele were built. A robust industry involving trafficking in endangered animals has grown up around the Chinese tourist trade.. Tiger bone wine is a frequent accompaniment. Shops in the SEZ sell animal parts, stuffed animals, and ivory, all in contravention of the CITES treaty to which Laos is a party.

In January 2018, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against what it called Zhao’s transnational criminal organisation, naming two registered Hong Kong companies under the Kings Romans Group as its corporate fronts and identifying Zhao and Su as the organisation’s leaders. The department said at the time, “The Zhao Wei crime network engages in an array of horrendous illicit activities, including human trafficking and child prostitution, drug trafficking and wildlife trafficking.”

Houay Xay, the capital city of the province, has most of the remainder of the province’s economic activity. The province is one of the main maize producing areas of Laos. Commercial mining for precious stones and gold is a major economic activity. Ban Nam Khok and Ban Houi Sala are notable mining areas. Buhae Industrial Corp., which is mining for sapphires, is a major operating company in Houay Xay District.

Referrence:

1. Wikipedia ‘Bokeo Province’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeo_Province