Myanmar's remote Wa State suffers as fewer Chinese come to party

Students write in books during a Chinese language lesson in a school at Namtit, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

PANGSAN, Myanmar (Reuters) - In a remote casino in northeastern Myanmar, China's pervasive campaign against graft has taken its toll. Hundreds of local traders and farmers place petty bets as low as 10 cents, outnumbering a few Chinese who were once the VIPs of a gambling hall decorated with chandeliers and Renaissance-style paintings.

"The business has been really bad since Chinese tourists stopped coming," said casino waitress Ling Ling who was considering leaving Pangsan, capital of the self-proclaimed Wa State that borders China, to look for better paying jobs.