Not so long ago, Laogai [Laukkai] was a busy town of casinos and cross-border trade, hustling and bustling with yuan banknotes changing hands between Chinese, Kokang and Burmese merchants. Since fighting broke out between government forces and Kokang rebels on 9 February, it has become something of a ghost town – Kokang-Chinese residents have poured across the border to refugee shelters in nearby Nansan, while Burmese civil servants and workers have grabbed whatever transport they could to make the long trail to Lashio.

All photos © DVB.