Phongsali

Phongsali ຜົ້ງສາລີ
District & municipality
Phongsali District
Phongsali Location in Laos
Coordinates: 21°41′N 102°06′E / 21.683°N 102.100°E / 21.683; 102.100
Country	Laos
Admin. division	Phongsaly Province
Population  (2015)[1]
• Total	23,300
• Religions	Buddhism
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)

Phongsali or Phongsaly (Lao: ຜົ້ງສາລີ) is the capital of Phongsaly Province, Laos. It is the northernmost provincial capital in Laos. The district had about 23,300 inhabitants according to the 2015 Laotian census. It lies at approximately 1,430 metres or 4,690 feet elevation on the slopes of Mount Phu Fa (1,625 metres or 5,330 feet). Phongsali has summer temperatures around 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with frequent rain. In winter, from November to March, it is cool and mostly sunny, with daytime temperatures between 10 and 18 °C (50.0 and 64.4 °F).

In the centre of the town are houses built in Yunnanese style with ornate wooden fronts. This is quite rare as the preserved city was not destroyed like other cities in northern Laos during the Vietnam War by bombing.

A 400 year-old tea plantation is about 18 kilometers away in the village of Ban Komaen, which according to some tea experts has some of the oldest tea trees in the world. The large root system of the old trees extends deep into the mineral-rich soil and gives the "Phongsali tea" a distinctive aroma and taste.