Mawlamyaing

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Mawlamyaing
Mawlamyaing Location of Mawlamyine, Myanmar (Burma)
Coordinates: 16°29′N 97°37′E / 16.483, 97.617
Country	Myanmar (Burma)
Admin. division	Mon State
Population
- Total	300,000
- Ethnicities	Bamar, Burmese Chinese, Burmese Indians, Kayin, 75% Mon
- Religions	Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism

Mawlamyine or Mawlamyaing (Burmese: ; MLCTS: mau la. mruing mrui.; IPA: [mɔ̀ləmjàiN mjo̰]; formerly Moulmein) is the third largest city of Burma (Myanmar), situated 300 km south east of Yangon at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) river. The city of 300,000 is the capital and largest city of Mon State, Myanmar, and is the main trading center and seaport in south-eastern Burma.

[edit] Etymology

The name Mawlamyaing means "ruined eye" in Mon. A Mon king was said to have lost his powerful eye in Mawlamyaing.

[edit] History

Mawlamyaing became the first capital of British Burma between 1827 and 1852 after Taninthayi (formerly Tenasserim) and Rakhine (formerly Arakan) were ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Yandaboo at the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. Today, Mawlamyaing is famous for its tropical fruits and for its cuisine as indicated in the popular Burmese expression, "Mandalay for the speaking, Yangon for the bragging, and Mawlamyine for the eating".

It is probably best known to English speakers through the opening lines of Rudyard Kipling's poem Mandalay:

"By the old Moulmein pagoda

Lookin' Eastward to the sea

There's a Burma girl a-settin'

and I know she thinks o' me".

Mawlamyaing is also the setting of George Orwell's famous 1936 memoir Shooting an Elephant. He served there as sub-divisional police officer. The essay opens with the striking words:

In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people -- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.

During colonial times, Moulmein had a substantial Anglo-Burmese population; an area of the city was known as 'Little England' due to the large Anglo-Burmese community, many of them engaged in the running of rubber plantations; however nowadays this has dwindled to all but a handful of families as most have left for the UK or Australia.

[edit] Geography

Shampoo Island near Mawlamyaing.

Moghul Shah Mosque.

Mawlamyaing is situated in the Salween River delta, where the Belu Kyun Island closes the mouth of Sanlwin River which finds its route to the Andaman Sea.

[edit] Transport

Mawlamyaing is the main gateway to south-eastern Myanmar. Thanlwin Bridge, the longest road and rail bridge in Myanmar is the most prominent landmark in the area. It stretches a distance of 11,000 feet over the Thanlwin river connecting the country's south eastern region with Yangon.^[1] The city is connected to Pa-an in Kayin State and Dawei and Myeik in Tanintharyi Division by road, and to Ye by rail.

Mawlamyaing Airport has regular flights to Yangon.

[edit] Culture

Mawlamyaing was keen to communication and busy seaport and transport centers, so it provides multicultural dimension, despite the majority of Buddhist Mon people. Buddhism culture was dominated as early as Mawlamyaing was, but the British occupation in the 19th century developed the first Christianity in Myanmar, and St Patrick school, Mawlamyaing (now BEHS (5) Mawlamyaing) was opened by the De La Salle Brothers in Myanmar in the 1860. Moreover, business expansion in the early 20th century established Mawlamyaing with Hindi culture of Indian (so-called Galakhar).

[edit] Education

Mawlamyaing has 20 high schools, and a university. University of Mawlamyaing is the major university for the south-eastern region, and offers bachelor's degrees in most arts and science majors. Students who wish to study medicine, engineering or computer science, or any advanced degree need to go to Yangon.

[edit] See also

• University of Mawlamyaing
• Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyine)
• Mawlamyaing Airport
• Mon people
• Attaran Bridge (Mawlamyine)
• Sittoung Bridge (Bilin)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Moulmein
• Photos of Moulmein
• Mawlamyine

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Coordinates: 16°29′05″N 97°37′33″E / 16.48472, 97.62583

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