| 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 (lo|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'; fr|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 Neua from 1903-1909.[2]
Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese, and Hmong, with some Tai Dam, Tai Daeng, and Tai Lue. The predominant language is Lao with Vietnamese and Hmong-speaking minorities. French is spoken by a small 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]