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Shan State[shAn] Pronunciation Key, state (1983 pop. 3,718,706), c.60,000 sq mi (155,400 sq km), E central Myanmar. Taunggyi, the capital, and Lashio are its principal cities. It borders on China in the north, Laos in the east, and Thailand in the south. Most of the Shan State is a hilly plateau; there are higher mountains in the north and south. The gorge of the Thanlwin (Salween) River cuts across the state. Silver, lead, and zinc are mined, notably at the Bawdwin mine, and there are smelters at Namtu. Teak is cut, and rice and other crops are grown. Running through Shan is part of the Golden Triangle, an area in which much of the world's opium and heroin are illegally produced. Drug trafficking is controlled by local warlords, some of whom have private armies amounting to thousands of soldiers.
The valleys and tableland are inhabited by the Shans, who in language and customs resemble the Thais and the Laos. They are largely Buddhists and are mainly engaged in agriculture. Among the Shans live Burmans, Chinese, and Karens. The hills are inhabited by various peoples, notably the Wa, formerly head-hunters, who are numerous in the north and along the Chinese border.
The Shans dominated most of Myanmar from the 13th to the 16th cent. In the 19th cent., long after their power declined, they were distributed among more than 30 petty states; most of them paid tribute to the Burman king. Under British rule, the Shan States were ruled by their hereditary chiefs (sawbwas) as feudatories of the British crown. In 1922 most of these small states were joined in the Federated Shan States, under a commissioner who also administered the Wa states. This arrangement survived the constitutional changes of 1923 and 1937. A single Shan state, including the former Wa states, was established by the 1947 Burmese constitution. In 1959 the sawbwas relinquished much of their power to the Burmese government. Shan State's autonomy was further eroded by increased federalization of the Burmese government in the 1970s. Generally, the Shans remain committed to the preservation of their distinct ethnic heritage.
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