Thailand: Early morning Akha market, Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai Province

The rugged, indomitable Chinese muleteers known to the Burmese as Panthay, and to the Thai and Lao as Haw or Chin Haw, were-and to some extent still are-the masters of the Golden Triangle. Certainly they were the traders par excellence, penetrating into the remotest reaches of forbidden territory such as the Wa States, whilst at the same time their mule caravans, laden with everything from precious stones and jade to opium and copper pans, traded as far as Luang Prabang in Laos, Moulmein in Burma, Dali and Kunming in Yunnan, and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.