The "Golden Triangle" covers roughly Shan and Kachin States in northern Myanmar, Chiang Rai Province in Thailand, Langnanta, phongsaly province and Udomsai Provinces in northern Chiang Mai, and Luang Prabang Province in the west, with a total of more than 3,000 villages and towns.
The golden triangle in a broad sense refers to the "three neglected areas" at the junction of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. The narrow golden triangle refers to the delta where the Mekong River meets the Messai River.
As a symbol of the Golden Triangle in Thailand, the famous Golden Triangle archway is located in Sobruak village near the ancient city of Qingsheng. It is located between Meisai Town and Qingsheng Town, 60 kilometers away from Meisai, 0 kilometers away from Qingsheng1/kloc-0, and faces Myanmar and Laos across the river.
Because it is located in a mountainous area, with unique landforms, lush trees and beautiful scenery, and because Myanmar and Laos are isolated from the world, it adds to the mystery of this place. The Golden Triangle was once famous for opium production, and 80% of the world's opium came from here. Now, the Golden Triangle has become a famous tourist attraction in northern Thailand, attracting countless tourists every year.
The golden triangle archway is made of marble and is 4 meters high. It is engraved with the words "Golden Triangle" in Thai and English. There are tourist souvenir shops, jade ornaments shops and restaurants around, which sell all kinds of special goods, such as mountain ethnic costumes in Thailand, jewels and jade in Myanmar and mountain treasures in Laos. Shop assistants usually wear national costumes, showing the unique national customs in northern Thailand, and the goods are also very memorable.
Extended data:
I. Geomorphological features
The traffic here is blocked and the mountains overlap, with a total area of about1.5 ~ 200,000 square kilometers. The ups and downs of the mountains form a three-dimensional climate, and the people at the foot of the mountain are extremely hot. At that time, people at the top of the mountain may have to surround the fire pit to keep out the cold. Relatively speaking, the natural conditions in high-altitude areas are relatively poor, and people's lives are more difficult.
Second, the climate environment.
The average elevation in this area is 1500-3000m, with fertile land and warm and humid climate. Long-term sunshine in subtropical areas makes there enough sunshine to promote the growth of various plants. The change of monsoon belt in Southeast Asia makes it a dry and wet season. In summer, the southwest monsoon brings a lot of hot and humid water from the sea, forming a wet season when there is abundant rainfall, and a dry season in the dry and cold monsoon belt in the east and north. This periodic change regulates the rhythm of local creatures.
The climate with long sunshine, low latitude and high humidity in Southeast Asia is very conducive to the growth and reproduction of animals and plants, which in turn forms a unique local rainforest climate and causes biodiversity here.
Three. Ecological river
Mekong River is another important geographical reason for the formation of the "Golden Triangle". It flows south from Qinghai in the northwest of China, passing through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia. This 4009-kilometer-long river cuts off the mountains in Southeast Asia. In addition, there are countless deep valleys and swift tributaries between mountains, forming countless canyons and cliffs, forming a big traffic bend.
Due to the above-mentioned special geographical reasons, the economic and cultural ties between the Golden Triangle area and developed areas are less, and it is difficult for the central authorities of relevant countries to control the Golden Triangle period deeply or effectively for a long time.
However, the favorable climatic conditions for crop production, combined with the particularity and complexity of topography, landforms and geographical climate, have created an excellent place for many ethnic groups and various separatist forces, regional forces or ethnic armed forces to survive and multiply in this area.
What is even more unimaginable is that this backward and narrow corner is constantly emitting the energy that corrodes civilized society and stubbornly proclaims its existence to the world. Complex geography, numerous nationalities and abnormal forces have created an excellent stage for all kinds of mysterious stories staged here.
Four. drug dealing
The Golden Triangle is rich in poppies, and is famous for producing opium, heroin and other drugs by local warlords and drug lords. The Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent on the border of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, and the Silver Triangle on the border of Colombia and Venezuela are also known as the three major drug sources in the world.
The core area of the Golden Triangle is the junction of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, but under the strong anti-drug offensive of the Thai government, most of the drug producing areas have been transferred to Myanmar. The Golden Triangle area is the largest opium and heroin producing area in the world, with a planting area of over 6,543,800 mu, with an annual output of 2,650-2,800 tons of opium and about 200 tons of heroin.
It is relatively recognized that the Golden Triangle is the source of 20% of the global opium supply, but the heroin trafficked through the Golden Triangle accounts for 60%-70% of the world every year, and the annual production capacity of heroin in this area can meet the global heroin consumption for two years.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-golden triangle