Khammouane, meaning “happy gold”, is believed to have been named after the gold deposits found in the area hundreds of years ago. The province’s history dates back as early as the 6th-8th centuries when the region was part of the Sikhottabong Kingdom. Remnants of the ancient civilization include the Great Wall (Kampeng Nyak), Meuang Phone Stupa, and Sikhottabong Stupa-one of the most sacred in Laos. The province has many remaining buildings that date to the colonial period, especially in the provincial capital of Thakhaek. There is an abandoned railway track that was originally planned to connect Laos with Vietnam but never finished, today the only evidence of this endeavor is an old railway bridge over the Nam Done River.