Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located to the south-east of Lashio. Lashio is the administrative center of Lashio Township and Lashio District; before April 2010, it was also the administrative center of Shan State (North). The population grew from approximately 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It was estimated at approximately 131,000 in 2009. The population is made up of mostly Shan, Chinese and Burmans. History The British colonial period in this part of the country began in 1887, and the Myanmar Railways line from Mandalay reached Lashio in 1903. Before British rule Lashio was also the centre of authority for the northern Shan States, but the Burmese post in the valley was close to the Nam Yao, in an old Chinese fortified camp. The Lashio valley was formerly very populous; but a rebellion, started by the sawbwa of Hsenwi, about ten years before the British occupation, ruined it. In 1900, the town of Lashio consisted of the European station, with court house and quarters for the civil officers; the military police post, the headquarters of the Lashio battalion of military police; and the native station, in which the various nationalities, Shans, Burmans, Hindus and Muslims, who were divided into separate quarters, with reserves for government servants and for the temporary residences of the five sawbwas of the northern Shan States; and a bazaar. Lashio became important during the Sino-Japanese War resp. World War II as the Burmese terminus of the Burma Road 1938–45. In World War II, Lashio was taken by the Japanese April 29, 1942 and liberated by the Allies March 7, 1945. Climate Lashio has a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) according to the Köppen climate classification system, marked by heavy rains from May to October. The annual rainfall averages . The average maximum temperature is and the average minimum . Temperatures are generally warm throughout the year, though nights are cool from December to March. Landmarks Yan Tine Aung Pagoda Chinese Temple Natural Hot spring Sarsana Hill Mansu Shan Monastery Lashio Night Bazaar Hu Mon Dam Linnoet (bat) cave Ye Kan Thaung Transport Lashio is located at the end of the Burma Road, and at the terminus of