 Santikhiri's early history centered on the Golden Triangle's opium trade, in which its distinctive population – the "lost army" of the Republic of China Army's 93rd Division – became involved.At the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, some remnants of the anti-communist Kuomintang (KMT) forces refused to surrender, including 278th Regiment of the 93rd Division and 709th Regiment of the 237th Division (led by General Li Kuo-hui).The troops fought their way out of Yunnan in south-western China, and its soldiers lived in Burma's (now Myanmar) jungles.