# Pakbeng

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{{Short description|Village in Oudomxay province, Laos}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2017}}

'''Pakbeng''' (Lao: ປາກແບ່ງ, {{IPA|lo|pàːk bɛ̄ŋ|pron}}) is a small village in [Laos](/source/Laos), on the [Mekong River](/source/Mekong_River), about halfway between the [Thai](/source/Thailand) border at [Huay Xai](/source/Ban_Houayxay) and [Luang Prabang](/source/Luang_Prabang), Laos. Pakbeng is connected by a sealed road with [Oudomxay province](/source/Oudomxay_province) along the Nam Beng River.

==Geography==
Pakbeng had its main road paved in 2005 and also just completed a hydroelectric station downriver thanks to a [World Bank](/source/World_Bank) loan. Before then, the town was dependent on electrical generators for electricity.

There is a small [wat](/source/wat) to be found in the hills not far from the village. It is an example of a Buddhist temple from the former [Lan Na](/source/Lan_Na) Kingdom. Many of the old temples had been destroyed during wars with the Thai Kingdom 300 years before.

==History==
{{See also|The Chinese Road}} 
During the [Laotian Civil War](/source/Laotian_Civil_War), Pakbeng was the southern terminus of the freshly constructed Route 46 from [Yunnan Province](/source/Yunnan_Province), [People's Republic of China](/source/People's_Republic_of_China).<ref name=Conboy>{{cite book|last1=Conboy|first1=Kenneth|last2=Morrison|first2=James|title=Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos|date=1995|publisher=Paladin Press|isbn=978-1-58160-535-8}}</ref>{{RP|319}}

==Tourism==
thumb|Pak Beng slow boats on the Mekong river bank at sunset, Laos
The town is the overnight stop for boats running between [Luang Prabang](/source/Luang_Prabang) and [Huay Xai](/source/Huay_Xai). The slow boats which run between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang over a period of two days spend the night moored in Pakbeng.

An elephant sanctuary was opened in November 2017 with four elephants: Mei-kham (48 years old female with more than 25 years as a working elephant in the forest), Kham-Khum (28 years old male with 20 years as a working elephant), Mae-Kham-Di (28 years old female, 15 years working in the forest) and Mae-Ping (21 years old female who was never used as a working elephant). The sanctuary has been built to create an alternative of the ancestral work of the elephants and the [mahout](/source/mahout) who traditionally were working in the forest and protect the elephants from hard labor tasks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://champameuanglao.com/destination-pakbeng-a-mekong-oasis/|title=Destination Pakbeng – A Mekong Oasis|work=Champa Meuanglao|access-date=2018-11-13|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Pakbeng.jpg|Main street, Pakbeng
File:Panoramic view of Pakbeng's (ປາກແບ່ງ) main street.jpg|Panoramic view of Pakbeng's main street
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wikivoyage-inline|Pakbeng}}

{{Commons category|Pak Beng}}
{{coord|19|51|0|N|101|33|0|E|type:city_region:LA_source:nlwiki|display=title}}

Category:Populated places in Bokeo province
Category:Populated places on the Mekong River

{{Laos-geo-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pakbeng](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakbeng) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakbeng?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.