CHIANG KHONG, Thailand -- In the sleepy village of Chiang Khong on the muddy-brown banks of the mighty Mekong river, the young men are excited by talk of a bridge to link Thailand with Laos on the other side. The older population of mostly farmers and small traders are less enthused; they have heard it before. But this time, a bridge to open up a forgotten corner of empty, jungle-covered hills on the edge of the Golden Triangle -- notorious in faraway countries for its opium-producing poppy cultivation -- might really happen. China has agreed to pay half the $33.2 million cost with Thailand to build a bridge to replace pontoon-like ferries that provide the only link across the river into the darkly forested land beyond. Previous proposals to build a bridge have fallen foul of political indifference in Bangkok and a suspicion of outsiders by the secretive communist dictatorship running Laos.
With Bridge Across Mekong, China Seeks Trade Route to Gulf of Thailand
