Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and is the capital of the

Tanintharyi Region Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ...

, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of the

Dawei River The Dawei River or Tavoy River ( my, ထားဝယ်မြစ်) is a river of the Tanintharyi Region, Burma. Geography It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and flows from north to south, the northern branch of the Tenasserim River runnin ...

. The city is about southeast of

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. Its population (2014 estimate) is 146,964. Dawei is a port at the head of the Dawei River

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, . from the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...

. As a result, the city is prone to flooding during the monsoon season. "Dawei" is also the name of one of Myanmar's 135 ethnic minorities.

Etymology

''Dawei'' derives from the

Mon language The Mon language (, mnw, ဘာသာမန်, links=no, (Mon-Thai ဘာသာမည်) ; my, မွန်ဘာသာ; th, ภาษามอญ; formerly known as Peguan and Talaing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon peopl ...

term ''hawai'' ( mnw, ထဝဲါ; ), which means 'to sit cross-legged', in reference to the Buddha's sitting posture on the

palin (throne) ''Palin'' ( my, ပလ္လင်; from pi, pallaṅka, or 'sofa') refers to any one of six types of thrones recognized in traditional Burmese scholarship. The ''palin'' is an important symbol of the Burmese monarchy and features prominently in ...

History

The area around the Dawei River estuary has been inhabited for centuries by

Dawei Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...

, Mon, Kayin, and

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

mariners. As the ancient site, Sagara City, old Dawei, which is approx 6 miles north of present city, has so many traces of

Pyu Pyu, also spelled Phyu or Phyuu, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. is a town in Taungoo District, Bago Region in Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Phyu Township Pyu Township is a township in Taungoo District in the ...

culture, it was recognized as one of the province capital in ancient Pyu era. From the 11th to 13th centuries, Dawei was part of the

Pagan Empire The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...

. From 1287 to 1564, Dawei became part of the

Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom (mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was fo ...

and its successor

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...

(Siam). From 1564 to 1594, Dawei was part of the

Toungoo Kingdom , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , era = , status = Empire , event_start = Independence from Ava , year_start ...

of Burma. Siam temporarily regained the city between 1594 and 1614. From 1614 to the 1740s, Dawei was the southernmost city under Burmese authority, and was defended by a Burmese garrison. In the late-1740s, during the Burmese civil war of 1740–1757, Dawei, along with the northern Tenasserim coast, was taken over by Siam. Burma regained the city in 1760, and extended its control over the entire Tenasserim coast in 1765. The Tenasserim coast was ceded to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

after the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmese ...

(1824–1826). After independence in 1948, the city became part of the

Tenasserim Division Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ...

, which also included today's

Mon State Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the ...

. In 1974, Mon State was carved out of Tenasserim and Dawei became the capital of the truncated division. In 1989, the city's English name was changed from Tavoy to Dawei, and Tenasserim became Tanintharyi.

Climate

Dawei features an extreme

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am''), similar to

Sittwe Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...

further north-west. There is a substantial dry season from November to March, but in the wet season the influence of local mountains causes Dawei to receive as much as precipitation per month. Apart from the Chocó region of Colombia, and the area around

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

in Africa, it is possibly the wettest lowland tropical region in the world.

Transport

Only recently was Dawei connected to the rest of

by road and rail. A transnational highway and a railway line across the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range ( my, တနင်္သာရီ တောင်တန်း, ; th, ทิวเขาตะนาวศรี, , ; ms, Banjaran Tanah Seri/Banjaran Tenang Sari) is the geographical name of a r ...

connecting Dawei and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

are planned if a proposed deep water port project goes ahead. This port could significantly reduce

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

-bound traffic when completed.

Dawei Airport

The airport serves as the domestic airport for the city of Dawei and the neighbouring towns. The government plans to upgrade the airport to serve as a hub for tourism.

Dawei Railway Station

It is the southernmost station and terminus in Myanmar. However the railway was partly constructed for a further 40 km approximately to the south towards Min Dat bridge and south Myanmar. Work ceased on this line in about 2012 but several partly constructed sections with bridges over rivers are visible on Google Earth.

Economy

There are plans to construct a

deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a US$8.6 billion deal with

Italian-Thai Development The Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited ( th, บริษัท อิตาเลียนไทย ดีเวล๊อปเมนต์ จำกัด (มหาชน)) was formed on 15 August 1958 as the "Italian-Thai Corpora ...

to develop the seaport at Dawei. The

Dawei Special Economic Zone The Dawei deep-sea port and special economic zone is an infrastructure project in Burma. Construction started, but was suspended in 2013. Plans to resume construction were announced in August 2015. It is in Dawei, the capital of the Tanintharyi R ...

would become Myanmar's first

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

(SEZ), which includes plans to develop a industrial estate, with sea, land (railway and road) infrastructure links to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, as well as a gas pipeline to Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province and commercial and residential developments. The development of the SEZ has been linked to land confiscations and land grabs from farmers of upwards of (direct) and , potentially displacing 500,000 Dawei natives. The project has been opposed by a significant portion of the local ethnic population. Dawei

longyi A longyi (; ) is a sheet of cloth widely worn in Burma (Myanmar). It is approximately long and wide. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape. It is worn around the waist, running to the feet, and held in place by folding fabric over wi ...

s (

sarong A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...

) are one of the area's well-known products. The area produces

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

, dried fish, and

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

wood. It also produces

cashew nuts The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...

and

betel nut The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plan ...

s and exports them through local traders to China, India, and Thailand. Dawei is also known for its variety of tropical fruits such as

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s, a variety of

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es,

mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. ...

s, and

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

. There is one fruit called ''zin thi'' (in Dawei language), which can only be found in Dawei and surrounding areas.

Higher education

* Dawei Education College *

Dawei University Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...

* Technological University, Dawei * Computer University, Dawei *Government Agricultural Institute, Dawei *Nursing Training School

Notable sites

* Maungmagan Beach *Maungmagan Hot Springs *Shwe Taung Sar Pagoda, Payagyi *Pe Hot Springs *Launglon Bok Islands *Paradise Beach *Grand Father Beach *Sin Htauk Beach *Wa Zwam Chaung Waterfall and hot springs *Ka Lone Htar Creek *Sargara Ancient City (Old town of the present Dawei) *Mokhti Ancient City *Thayet Chaung Waterfall

Notable residents

Ba Swe Ba Swe ( my, ဘဆွေ, ; 17 October 1915 – 6 December 1987) was the second Prime Minister of Burma. He was a leading Burmese politician during the decade after the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948. He held the position ...

, 2nd Prime Minister of Union of Burma *

Richard Bartholomew Richard Lawrence Bartholomew (29 November 1926 – 11 January 1985) was an Indian art critic, photographer, painter, poet, and writer. Early life Richard Bartholomew fled from Tavoy (Dawei), Burma (Myanmar), where he was born, during the Secon ...

Ngwe Gaing Ngwe Gaing ( my, ငွေကိုင် ; 1901–1967) was a Burmese artist who worked in both oil and watercolor. After the death of his teacher Ba Nyan, he was recognized as the greatest living painter in Myanmar. He had great influence on t ...

, Burmese artist *

Ma Chit Po Thura Ma Chit Po ( my, သူရ မချစ်ပို; February 1908 – 8 April 1949) was a Burmese woman who was the one and only civilian woman to have received the Thura medal for bravery. She gathered intelligence on the Karen National ...

, only woman to be awarded the Thura Medal

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 14, 05, N, 98, 12, E, display=title Township capitals of Myanmar Populated places in Tanintharyi Region