The Town

Mae Salong a town of approximately 8,000 people, is primarily Chinese, along with a scattering of hill tribe villages near the town. In most cases the student’s first language is Chinese (western Mandarin), or with a minority various native hill tribe languages, such as Akha, Lisu, etc. Thai is usually the second language, English the third. The town was founded by former KMT rebels who originally fled China to Burma in the late 1940’s, then from Burma to Northern Thailand in 1962 on the request of the Thai government. Knowledge of Thai is useful in the classroom but will be of less help in the town than elsewhere in the country – the older people in town (over 25 years of age) speak Chinese almost exclusively.

The Region

Mae Salong Village is in Chiang Rai province, the most northern province in the country. It shares borders with both Burma and Laos. The village is only a few kilometers from the Burmese border. Chiang Rai city, the provincial capital, has about 50,000 people and is about 75km from Mae Salong, accessible by public transport, car and motorbike.