Boten

Boten (ບໍ່ເຕັນ, ; 磨丁) is a town in Laos in Luang Namtha Province. Boten is on the China–Laos border. It is opposite the Chinese town Mohan. While Boten is part of Laos, most of its inhabitants speak Mandarin Chinese as their native language. Boten operates on Beijing time.

Economy
Boten allows the use of both the Lao kip and the Chinese yuan.

The Boten special economic zone is under development. The town is seeking to transition from its former gambling focused economy to one focused on logistics and tourism.

Transport
After 5 years of construction, in December 2021 both the Vientiane–Boten Railway and Yuxi–Mohan railways opened, connecting the town south towards Vientiane and towards Kunming, China to the north. Boten is the northernmost Lao town on the 414 km railway, with 198 km of tunnels and 62 km of bridges, that runs at an operating speed of 160 km per hour. The town is served by Boten railway station.

Casino
In 2002, a big casino was built in Boten. The casino mainly attracted Chinese visitors as gambling is illegal in China. In 2011, the Chinese government requested Laos to close this casino. Today the casino is abandoned.