Stung Treng province

Stung Treng<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Template:Langx, UNGEGN: Stœ̆ng Trêng Template:IPA; Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration, Template:IPA; lit. "River of Reeds") is a province of Cambodia in the northeast. It borders the provinces of Ratanakiri to the east, Mondulkiri and Kratié to the south and Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear to the west. Its northern boundary is Cambodia's international border with Laos. The Mekong River bisects the province. The province is mostly covered by forest, but logging and fishing put high pressure on the forest and fishery reserves.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Etymology

Originally, Stung Treng was named "Tonle Ropov (Khmer: ទន្លេរពៅ), which is now an area in Stung Treng called "Tonle Ropov Area" (Khmer: តំបន់ទន្លេរពៅ).

The name “Satung Teng (Khmer: សាទឹងទែង)" was founded by a monk named "Seang Peng (Khmer: សៀង ប៉េង) from Vientiane. The words “Satung Teng" have changed to "Xiang Taeng (Khmer: សៀងទែង). In Lao, the word "Xiang" means "goddess" who has resigned, while the word “Taeng” means "built".

Due to advancement in the Khmer language, it was later called "Stung Treng (Khmer: ស្ទឹងត្រែង)" which means a river of reeds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Stung Treng was first a part of the Khmer Empire, then the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, and later the Lao kingdom of Champasak. After the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, Chiang Taeng (Stung Treng) was administered by French Lower Laos from 1893 to 1904. In 1904 French Laos traded the province to the French Protectorate of Cambodia in exchange for Champassak, leaving a small Laotian minority in Cambodia.

Owing to its border location and the forested mountains in the northeast of the province, it was a hotbed of communist insurgent activity—and a target for U.S. bombs in the 1960s and 70s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The insurgency lasted from the Vietnamese infiltration in the 1950s until the late Khmer Rouge years.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Geography

Stung Treng province, which covers an area of 11,092 square kilometers borders Laos to the north, Ratanakiri to the east, Preah Vihear to the west and Kratié and Kampong Thom to the south.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Extensive forests, intersecting rivers and streams characterize it. Stung Treng includes also the western chunk of the massive Virachey National Park, accessible from Siem Pang. The province also features three big rivers—the Sekong River, the Sesan River and the Mekong—with its hundreds of small islands scattered on the river stretch in Stung Treng.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Until February 2022, it was one of the few provinces where you could see the rare and endangered Irrawaddy dolphin in the wild near the Laos border, Borei O’Svay Sen Chey District and Anlong Cheuteal in Stung Treng. The population has likely vanished due to illegal fishing in the area.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

Stung Treng has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). The wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is muggy and partly cloudy, and it is hot year-round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from Template:Convert to Template:Convert and is rarely below Template:Convert or above Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Heavy rain falls from May to October,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with little rainfall from December to March. The hottest month is April with an average maximum of Template:Convert, and the coolest January with an average minimum of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Stung Treng's economy is solely based on agriculture. Various plantations such as timber, rubber and cash nuts are built all over the province. 85% of the population lives in rural parts of the province and depend on agriculture for their source of income. Animal breeding, fishing and silk weaving are also important industries in the province.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation found a mineralized belt of copper and zinc in the province in 2019, and plans to step up further exploration with a Japanese partner to extract the minerals. The exploration site is about 260 kilometres north of Phnom Penh.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Administration

The province is divided into 5 districts, 1 municipality, 34 communes, and 128 villages.

ISO code	District	Khmer
19-01	Sesan	Template:Lang
19-02	Siem Bouk	Template:Lang
19-03	Siem Pang	Template:Lang
19-04	Stung Treng Municipality	Template:Lang
19-05	Thala Barivat	Template:Lang
19-06	Borei O'Svay Sen Chey	Template:Lang<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2 districts Siem Bouk and Thala Barivat in west Mekong River

Notable people

• Ken Lo, Martial artist, actor, stuntman
• Sinn Sisamouth, Singer-songwriter