Royal palace to be built in Shan village

No.11 - 3/2007
21 March 2007
Thai-Burma Relations
 
Royal palace to be built in Shan village
 
Ban Mai Mawk Jarm, a Shan village in Mae Ai District, 180 km north of Chiangmai, has been chosen for a new palace to be constructed before the end of the year, according to an ethnic Shan community leader.
 
The news was disclosed to the Shan elders on 19 March by Manop Kongngern, head of the local Royal Project Development Center, said Boonlert Jansuwan, better known as Hsang Aw, General Secretary of the Fang-based Thai Yai (Shan) Community yesterday.
 
Further details on the project will be discussed and worked out at a meeting scheduled in early May at Huey Sala, near Ban Mai, he added.

 
^{Chao Tzang Yawnghwe and Ban Mai Mawk Jarm Shans with Their Majesties}

Ban Mai Mawk Jarm was established by Shan exiles following "the first coup" staged by Gen Ne Win in 1958. It later became a boom town under the guidance of the late Chao Tzang Yawnghwe (1939-2004). A festival in honor of Shan literati is also held there each February.