Chinese lantern. A relation of the physalis or cape gooseberry, this is a red fruit held in a papery red, lantern-shaped case, native to western Europe. It is mainly used for decorative purposes or for preserves and sauces.
Tucked up right under China, west of Viet Nam, north of Cambodia and Thailand, east of Burma and lying along the Mekong River, Laos is a land-locked country with some 6½ million inhabitants.
