Hukawng Valley

It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State in the northernmost part of the country.

Ringed by steep mountain ranges to the north, east and west, the valley is known as a habitat of tigers, but encroachment by man has greatly decreased their numbers, to perhaps as few as 100 animals.

In 2004, the government established the world's largest tiger preserve in the Hukawng Valley, the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of approximately 6,500 km2 (2,500 sq mi); later, the Sanctuary was extended to 21,800 km2, making it the largest protected area in mainland Southeast Asia.

The government's establishment of the preserve was accomplished in cooperation with the Kachin Independent Army, a formerly-rebel group that inhabits the region.

During World War II, the Ledo Road was built by the US Army across the Hukawng Valley, largely by African-American engineer battalions and Chinese laborers, in order to supply the armies of the Republic of China, who were then allied with the Western Allies in the war against the Empire of Japan.