Owing to Kengtung's proximity to China and Thailand, the city is known by a number of exonyms and endonyms. The endonym used by Tai Khun and Tai Lue-speaking locals is Jeng Tung (ᨾᩮᩨ᩠ᨦᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᨲᩩᨦ) respectively. Other Shan speakers use the exonym Kengtung. The most common exonym, Kyaingtong, is derived from the Burmese approximation of Kengtung. The exonym of Chiang Tung (Thai: เชียงตุง, RTGS: Chiang Tung[t͡ɕʰīa̯ŋtūŋ]) is used by Thai speakers, while Chinese speakers use Jingdong (simplified Chinese: 景栋; traditional Chinese: 景棟; pinyin: Jǐngdòng).
The early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. The oral tradition of the [Tai people] says that the ancient city of Kengtung was founded in the distant past by Tai Lue as the original inhabitants of the region,[3] and was later reestablished by the grandson of King Mangrai after defeating the Tai Lue.[4] This migration of the Chiang Mai dynasty in the 13th century, with the founding a new kingdom which was later named Lanna, has resulted in Kengtung having a different type of Tai population from the rest of the Shan State, the Tai Khün.
The city was seized and occupied by the Thai Phayap Army from 1942 until the end of the Second World War and became the headquarters of the Saharat Thai Doem territory.[5] The headquarters of the regional military command of the Tatmadaw is in the town.[6]
The aerial view of Kyaing Tong central market. One Tree Hill (Thit Ta Pin Taung in Myanmar) at the background.
Kengtung has a tropical wet and dry/ savanna climate (Köppen-Geiger classification: Aw) with a pronounced dry season in the low-sun months, no cold season, wet season is in the high-sun months. Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months (December–February) are milder and nights can be quite cool. There is a winter dry season (December–April) and a summer wet season (May–November).
Climate data for Kengtung, elevation 827 m (2,713 ft), (1991–2020, extremes 1986–1994 and 2001–2010)[a]
^Mangrai, Sao Saimong (2002). The Padaeng Chronicle and the Jengtung State Chronicle Translated. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Centers for South and Southeast Asian Studies. p. 3. ISBN0-89148-087-0.
^"Kengtung (Myanmar)"(PDF). Centro de Investigaciones Fitosociológicas. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
Notes
^The record highs and lows are based on the Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial link for the period 1986–1994 while records from 2001 to 2010 come from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. As a result, the most extreme values from either source are used, leading to the period of reference for extremes from 1986 to 1994 and 2001–2010.
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