princely state · Mainland Southeast Asia

North Hsenwi

1888 CE – 1959 CE · capital Hsenwi

The northern half of the partitioned Shan state of Hsenwi, on the China border, which kept its saopha under British and Burmese rule until 1959.

Origins

In 1888 the British divided the old Shan state of Hsenwi, torn by civil war, into two parts. North Hsenwi, with its capital at Hsenwi town, covered the north-eastern lands along the frontier with Yunnan, including Lashio and the Kutkai area.

Rule and society

The saopha of North Hsenwi governed a large and ethnically mixed territory of Shan, Kachin, Palaung, Chinese and Wa peoples, with trade routes to China. The Burma Road, opened in 1938 to supply Nationalist China, ran through it via Lashio, and the region saw heavy fighting in the Second World War. It was part of the Federated Shan States from 1922.

Decline and legacy

North Hsenwi became part of Shan State in independent Burma in 1948, and its saopha surrendered his powers in 1959. The area later became a centre of ethnic insurgency and the border trade around Muse.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Hsenwi State 1300 CE – 1888 CENorth Hsenwi

Connections (2)

More states of Mainland Southeast Asia →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). North Hsenwi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/north-hsenwi
MLA
“North Hsenwi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/north-hsenwi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “North Hsenwi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/north-hsenwi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘North Hsenwi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/north-hsenwi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻