→ sightseeing of the town
 
 

Just before the millenium (1996/1998)

Please note: Modern maps are orientated approximately to the North. Therefore they all are turned about 180° in comparison to the old map of 1890. That pertains to all now following maps. In consequence our new town map from 1998 has been turned at 180° in comparison to the old map of 1890.

During our survey in Müang Sing we closely inspected the remains of the town wall and the town moat as well as the area inside. In short the following observations seem worth mentioning [1996/1998 !!]:

• The length of the wall, given in the old plan, proved wrong. In fact, one feels impressed by the vastness of the town. The length of each side was measured at roughly 800 m. Thereby the whole area inside the town wall would be 60 - 70 ha. The wall is still visible, apart from its southern corner where it is completely levelled in a length of 300 - 400 m in both directions. All gates can be recognized as broad passages. Moreover, one can still see a moat of 4 m breadth surrounding the town. Parts of it are silted up. Near the eastern corner the moat is formed by the Sing river.
   
• The present height of the wall is between 1.2 and 1.6 m. Although raining water might have levelled the wall to a certain extent, it seems hard to believe that the original height of the wall was about 3 m.

• Apart from some spots where two squares are amalgamated into one (rectangular) area, the delineation and the breadth of the streets are more or less the same as can be seen from the 1890 map. On both sides of the streets are small ditches.
• The → ruler’s palace and the other palace buildings have disappeared. There are ruins of a brick building in the centre of the town, but it comes probably from the French colonial period. The area surrounding the former ruler’s palace is sparsely populated. Most of the area is used as garden land and pasture.
• Major buildings in the town are:
  • the old French fort, now used by the Lao People's Army,
  • the district administration,
  • one kindergarten, four primary schools and one secondary school, one teacher's training college,
  • one school for women's vocational training,
  • the ground of the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
    (GTZ, since 2010 GIZ Society for international Cooperation) and
  • the museum with some historical photos.
• The area of highest density of population is in the southeast of the town. The gravity of population has obviously shifted towards the "China Road" and the market. That area belongs to the compartment of Siang Cai where almost half of the total "urban" population lives. Our own mapping of the population density in the town, based on close quarter-to-quarter inspection, confirms the uneven distribution of inhabitants. The area close to the northern corner, in particular, is unpopulated wasteland. This may explain the relatively small population of Siang Lae and Siang In to which this area belongs administratively.
• The official map of 1983 shows 216 houses for the whole town, inside and outside of the wall.
• Müang Sing is experiencing an economic upswing. There are many new buildings along the main road that runs to the Lao-China border. For several hours a day there is electricity. One can also observe motorization to a certain extent. The bulk of commodities and consumers goods comes from China. Simple tourism is booming. In 1993, there was only one hotel in Müang Sing. Three years later there were already four, and three others are yet under construction.

And now we stroll with curiosity through the town of Müang Sing

... [1996 bzw. 1998] with a click at each red marked point in the town map