| Xam Neua | |
| Native Name Lang: | lo |
| Settlement Type: | District & municipality |
| Other Name: | Sam Neua Samneua |
| Official Name: | Xam Neua District |
| Pushpin Map: | Laos |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Laos |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Admin. division |
| Subdivision Name1: | Houaphanh Province |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2015 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 56,900 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Population Blank2: | Buddhism |
| Timezone: | ICT |
| Utc Offset: | +7 |
Xam Neua (Lao: text=ຊຳເໜືອ|translit=Sam Nư̄a|translit-std=ALA-LC, in Lao pronounced as /sám nɯ̌a/, sometimes transcribed as Sam Nuea or Samneua, literally 'northern swamp'; French: Xam-Nua), is the capital of Houaphanh Province, Laos, in northeast Laos.
After fleeing from Phrae, deposed king Phiriya Thepphawong escaped from Northern Thailand to Luang Prabang, residing in Xam Nua from 1903-1909.[2]
Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese, and Hmong, with some Tai Dam, Tai Daeng, and Tai Lu. The predominant language is Lao with minorities of Vietnamese and Hmong. French is spoken by a minority of people as a legacy of the French colonial era. It is taught in schools and used in public works and government.
Xam Neua is in a valley in Houaphanh Province. At 05:45 and 17:45 each day there are public addresses from loudspeakers atop a tower on the school playground, expounding on communist life and philosophy. These addresses are usually accompanied by Lao music.
It is said that there is a communist re-education camp in Xam Neua and that it was the Pathet Lao capital during the Laotian Civil War Battle of Lima Site 85 (LS-85), 11 March 1968. It is near the Pathet Lao refuges in the Viengxay caves, which the Lao government hopes to promote as a tourism destination similar to the Củ Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and the Killing Fields Memorial near Phnom Penh in Cambodia. It is near Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area (pronounced "naam et poo loo-ee").[3]