The term "Golden Triangle" refers to the border regions between Thailand, Burma and Laos and when gold was used by Chinese traders to pay for opium grown there.
Within Southeast Asia the term is synonymous with the opium and heroin trade.
The history of the opium poppy in the Golden Triangle can be traced back to various Chinese migrant groups for whom the poppy was an integral part of their cultural traditions. Elderly people regarded opium, and still do, as an acceptable natural stimulant. The Hmong tribe have always produced opium for trade, at first it was intended for the Chinese market, but later the French colonists bought large amounts during their reign in Indochina.
After Mao Zedong's Communist Army defeated and ousted Chiang Kai-Sheks National Revolutionary Army, many of these Chinese Kuomintangs came to the Thai-Burmese border region looking for ways to make money. They decided to make their living in the drug trade and dramatically increased opium production.