Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cluding the Black, Red and White Tai, all of whom share a distinctly Hua Phan character - a
fortitude shaped by the remote mountainous terrain and by years spent living in the heart of
the
Pathet Lao's liberated zone
. After the Pathet Lao rose to power in 1975, the commun-
ists further exploited Hua Phan's isolation by transforming their liberated zone into a massive
prison camp. Thousands of former Royal Lao soldiers were interred in the province's notori-
ous re-education camps. Hua Phan's wartime history has been etched into the land at
Vieng
Xai
, a short ride from Sam Neua. Dozens of
caves
hidden in the sawtoothed limestone karsts
of Vieng Xai served as the headquarters for the Pathet Lao during their Thirty Year Struggle.
