Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in
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 ...
(Burma),
[ ''World Gazetteer''] south east 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 ...
and south of
Thaton
Thaton (; mnw, သဓီု ) is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85. It is 230 km south east of Yangon and 70 km ...
, at the mouth of
Thanlwin
, ''Mae Nam Salawin'' (
, name_etymology =
, image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar
, map ...
(Salween) River. The first
capital of
British Burma, the city is currently the capital and largest city of
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 ...
and the main
trading
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
centre and
seaport
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 south eastern Myanmar.
Etymology and legend
The
Mon name which was previously used for Mawlamyine, ''Moulmein'' (; ) means "damaged eye" or "one-eyed man." According to legend, a
Mon king had a powerful third eye in the centre of his forehead, able to see what was happening in neighbouring kingdoms. The daughter of one of the neighbouring kings was given in marriage to the three-eyed king and managed to destroy the third eye. The Burmese name "Mawlamyine" is believed to be a corruption of the Mon name.
Moulmein was also spelled as ''Maulmain or Moulmain or Maulmein'' in some records of the 19th century. The people of Moulmein were referred as ''Moulmeinian.''
History
Early history
Early Mon reigns
According to
Kalyani Inscriptions
The ''Kalyani Inscriptions'' ( my, ကလျာဏီကျောက်စာ), located in Bago, Burma (Myanmar), are the stone inscriptions erected by King Dhammazedi of Hanthawaddy Pegu between 1476 and 1479. Located at the Kalyani Ordinatio ...
erected by King
Dhammazedi
Dhammazedi ( my, ဓမ္မစေတီ, ; c. 1409–1492) was the 16th king of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in Burma from 1471 to 1492. Considered one of the most enlightened rulers in Burmese history, by some accounts call him "the greatest" of al ...
of
Hanthawaddy Pegu in 1479, Mawlamyine was mentioned among the ‘32 myo’ or thirty-two
Mon cities within the Martaban division. Binnya U, a deputy of Viceroy
Saw Binnya
Saw Binnya ( my, စောဗညား, ; died 1541) was viceroy of Martaban (Mottama) from c. 1510s to 1539, and the self-proclaimed king of the rump Hanthawaddy Kingdom from 1539 to 1541. First appointed viceroy of Martaban, one of the three ...
, was one of the notable governors of Mawlamyine in the early history of the city.
Toungoo dynasty
In May 1541, King
Tabinshwehti
Tabinshwehti ( my, တပင်ရွှေထီး, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kin ...
and his deputy
Bayinnaung
, image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG
, caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar
, reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581
, coronation = 11 January 1551 at Toung ...
captured Mawlamyine. During the reign of Bayinnaung,
Toungoo Empire
The First Toungoo Empire ( my, တောင်ငူ ခေတ်, ; also known as the First Toungoo Dynasty, the Second Burmese Empire or simply the Toungoo Empire) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the ...
became the largest empire in the history of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. After his passing in 1581, his son
Nanda Bayin
, image =
, caption =
, reign = 10 October 1581 –
, coronation = 15 October 1581
, succession =
, predecessor = Bayinnaung
, successor = Nyaungyan
, suc-type = Successor
, reg-ty ...
and successors faced with rebellion by
Lan Na,
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
,
Lan Xang
existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707.
For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...
and renewed Portuguese incursions. In 1594, the governor of Mawlamyine who being in league with Siamese King
Naresuan
King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...
revolted against Toungoo court. Since then, the city became under the control of Siam (present-day
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
) until 1614.
Konbaung dynasty
In 1760, General
Minkhaung Nawrahta
Minkhaung Nawrahta ( my, မင်းခေါင် နော်ရထာ ; c. 1714 – 5 December 1760) was a general of the Royal Burmese Army of the Konbaung Dynasty during the reign of King Alaungpaya. He is best known for his rearguard defen ...
of the
Royal Burmese Army
The Royal Armed Forces ( my, တပ်မတော်,See (Maha Yazawin 2006: 26), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236), (Hmannan Vol. 2 2012: 2) for example. ) were the armed forces of the Burmese monarchy from the 9th to 19th centuries. It refers ...
repaired Mawlamyine on his way back from
Burmese–Siamese War in
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to:
* Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767
** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
* Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
(former capital of Thailand). Kyaikthanlan Pagoda Inscription hinted that in 1764 (1125 ME), General
Maha Nawrahta
Gen. Maha Nawrahta ( my, မဟာနော်ရထာ, , called Mang Maha Noratha by Damrong Rajanubhab; d. March 1767) was joint commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Army from 1765 to 1767. The general is best known for commanding the southe ...
repaired Kyaikthanlan Pagoda on his way to capture
Tavoy
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 ...
, and before finishing the repairment, Mawlamyine faced utter destruction.
Colonial Moulmein (1824–1948)
Mawlamyine was the
first capital of
British Burma between 1826 and 1852 after the
Tanintharyi (Tenassarim) coast, along with
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
, was ceded to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
under the
Treaty of Yandabo
The Treaty of Yandabo ( my, ရန္တပိုစာချုပ် ) was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5March 1824, by ...
at the end of 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 ...
.
After the first Anglo-Burmese war, the British made it their capital between 1826 and 1852, building government offices, churches and a massive prison. They started business enterprises and the country's first newspaper, ''
The Maulmain Chronicle''.
Between 1826 and 1862, colonial Mawlamyine was the center of British Burma and the first
port city
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 Ha ...
that became a strategically important area and a geographical nodal point for the newly occupied British territory in Southeast Asia. Ever since the first British occupation in 1824, the growth and prosperity of Mawlamyine had steadily increased due to timber trade. Nevertheless, the decline in prosperity of Mawlamyine began when the supply of marketable timber from Salween Valley started to decrease in the 1890s.
During British colonial times,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
opened and maintained
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
s in Mawlamyine led by either
consuls
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
or vice-consuls while
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
placed consular agencies in Mawlamyine.
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
explorer
Johann Wilhelm Helfer Johann Wilhelm Helfer also known as Jan Vilém Helfer (February 5, 1810 in Prague – January 30, 1840 in Andaman Islands) was a Bohemian physician, explorer and naturalist. He died in the Andaman Islands, after the group he was in was attacked b ...
's landing at Moulmein shore on 8 February 1837 made him as the first German to arrive Burma in the history.
Mawlamyine was the setting of
George Orwell's famous 1936 memoir ''
Shooting an Elephant
"Shooting an Elephant" is an essay by British writer George Orwell, first published in the literary magazine '' New Writing'' in late 1936 and broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 12 October 1948.
The essay describes the experience of the Englis ...
''. 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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
" due to the large Anglo-Burmese community, many of them running rubber plantations. This has since dwindled to a handful of families as most have left for the UK or Australia.
It was probably best known to
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
speakers through the opening lines of
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
's poem ''
Mandalay'':
:"By the old Moulmein pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea
:There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me".
During
WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the city and the
Tanintharyi Region
Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ; ...
were the first objectives during the
Japanese invasion of Burma
The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign (December 1941 to mid-1942) ...
.
"The old Moulmein pagoda" - Kyaik Than Lan
The "old Moulmein pagoda" Kipling cites is thought to be the Kyaik Than Lan (also spelled Kyaikthanlan) pagoda in Mawlamyine.
[Mawlamyine.com Kyaikthanlan pagoda page](_blank)
Accessed 16 August 2015. It stands on a ridge, giving a panoramic view of the city, and is surrounded by 34 smaller temples.
Among its sacred treasures is a hair relic of
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
,
[Happy Footprints](_blank)
. Accessed 16 August 2015 received from a hermit in Thaton,
[W. Vivian De Thabreuw, ''Buddhist Monuments and Temples of Myanmar and Thailand'' (Authorhouse, 11 March 2014). E-book. .] as well as a tooth relic conveyed from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
by a delegation of monks in ancient times.
Contemporary Mawlamyine
Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, the city fell into the hands of
Karen insurgents. The
Myanmar military
Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
retook the city with the help of
UBS Mayu
UBS ''Mayu'' was the first flagship of the Burmese Navy. She was commissioned on 25 May 1947 and saw 32 years of active service during which she participated in many counter-insurgency campaigns, safeguarding Myanmar's territorial waters, and also ...
in 1950. Later, many colonial names of streets and parks of the city were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. Mawlamyine stood as the third-largest city of Myanmar until the recent rise of
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw (; ), is the capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's cities, as it is an entirely planned city o ...
.
Geography
Mawlamyine is in the
Salween River
, ''Mae Nam Salawin'' (
, name_etymology =
, image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar
, map ...
delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
, where the mouth of the Salween is sheltered by Bilugyun Island as it enters the
Gulf of Martaban
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
and 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 ...
. It is flanked by low hills dotted with ancient pagodas to the east and west.
[
]
Climate
Mawlamyine has a 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Am'') similar to the climates of 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 ...
and 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 ...
. There is a lengthy dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
between mid-November and mid-April, and an extremely wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
due to the southwest monsoon between mid-April and mid-November. Between June and August when the surface westerly winds are strongest and supersaturated air is advected onto the nearby mountains, Mawlamyine averages around of rain per month.
Transport
Airport
Mawlamyine Airport has regular flights to Yangon (Rangoon).
Bus and taxis
Mawlamyine is the main gateway to south eastern Myanmar. Thanlwin Bridge
Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyaing) was the longest bridge in Myanmar before the construction of Pakouku Bridge and connects the city of Mawlamyaing with Mottama. Constructed at the confluence of the Thanlwin River, the Gyaing River and the Attayan Ri ...
, the longest road and rail bridge in Myanmar is the most prominent landmark in the area. It stretches over the Thanlwin River connecting the country's south eastern region with Yangon. The city has central highway bus station. The city is connected to Pa-an in Kayin State in the north-east and 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 ...
and Myeik in Tanintharyi Division in the south by road. Via Kawkareik
Kawkareik (; my, ကော့ကရိတ်, ; ksw, ဒူဖျၢ်ယၢ်ဝ့ၢ်ဖိ) also spelled as Kawkarike, is a town in Karen State, Myanmar. It is the capital of Kawkaraik District and Kawkaraik Township.
History
The K ...
, the city is also connected with Thai-Myanmar border town Myawaddy
Myawaddy ( Phlone ;myမဝတဳ my, မြဝတီ; th, เมียวดี; ; ) is a town in southeastern Myanmar, in Kayin State, close to the border with Thailand. Separated from the Thai border town of Mae Sot by the Moei River (Tha ...
. Newly opened Bogyoke Aung San Bridge (Bilu Kyun) connects Mawlamyine with nearby Bilu island
Bilu Island ( my, ဘီလူးကျွန်း; mnw, တေကာ့ခမိုင်း; Bilu Kyun, lit. "ogre island") is a Deltaic island of Salween(Thanlwin) River in Chaungzon Township, Mon State, located west of Mawlamyine. The isl ...
, lies about 500 metres west off the shore of Mawlamyine.
In Mawlamyine, motorcycles and tuk-tuk
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
(Thone Bee in Burmese) motorized tricycles cumulatively registered for use as taxis. Mawlamyine is also served by bus networks which radiate mostly from the north to the south.
Railways
It was the rail head to Ye, linked to Yangon by rail only from Mottama
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
(Martaban) across the river by ferry, but today connected by the Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyine) opened in April 2006.
Mawlamyine Railway Station
Mawlamyine railway station ( my, မော်လမြိုင် ဘူတာ) is a railway station located in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar on Myanmar Railways' Bago-Mawlamyine-Dawei line. The two-story station is long and wide, and has a t ...
, which was reportedly built to the standards of an "ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
railway station", is the terminus of Myanmar Railways
Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...
' Bago
Bago may refer to:
Places Myanmar
* Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region
* Bago District, a district of the Bago Region
* Bago Region an administrative region
* Bago River, a river
* Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...
-Mawlamyine-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 ...
line from Yangon.
Water transport
In colonial era, Mawlamyine (then Moulmein) port was served by European shipping companies including Scottish-owned British-India Steam Navigation Company
British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company.
History
The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...
and Irrawaddy Flotilla Company
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) was a passenger and cargo ferry company, which operated services on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, now Myanmar. The IFC was Scottish-owned, and was managed by P Henderson & Company from Glasgow. The IFC opera ...
.
The port was important not only for inland navigation but also for international shipping. Rice and teak from sawmills at Mawlamyine were exported worldwide by those shipping companies. The 1880 handbook of British-India Steam Navigation Company
British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company.
History
The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...
listed:
* Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
- Rangoon - Moulmein (started in 1857)
* Moulmein - Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
- Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
- 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 ...
(started in 1862)
* Moulmein - Penang - Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
- Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
lines in operations.
In 1894, the journey between Barr Street Jetty of Rangoon to the Main Wharf of Moulmein took about nine hours at a fare of 10 Rupees for second class.
Nowadays, although much diminished from its past prominence, water-based transport still plays an important role in connecting between Mawlamyine and the immediate upstream towns. The Port of Mawlamyine is currently under the management of Myanma Port Authority
The Myanmar Port Authority ( my, မြန်မာ့ဆိပ်ကမ်းအာဏာပိုင်, abbreviated MPA) is a government agency vested with the responsibility to regulate and administer the coastal ports of Myanmar. It is a de ...
and is located on the Thanlwin River
, ''Mae Nam Salawin'' (
, name_etymology =
, image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar
, map ...
about 28 nautical miles inland from the Kyaikkhame point on the Gulf of Martaban, 2 kilometers from Mawlamyine railway station
Mawlamyine railway station ( my, မော်လမြိုင် ဘူတာ) is a railway station located in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar on Myanmar Railways' Bago-Mawlamyine-Dawei line. The two-story station is long and wide, and has a t ...
.
Cityscape
Around the city
Heritage buildings
*Kyaikthanlan Pagoda
The Kyaikthanlan Pagoda ( my, ကျိုက်သလ္လံ စေတီ) is the tallest Burmese pagoda, Buddhist pagoda in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar, standing at a height of .
Built in 875 AD during the reign of Mon kingdoms, Mon Kin ...
: It was built in 875 AD during the reign of Mon King Mutpi Raja, it was raised from its original height of to the present by successive kings including Wareru
Wareru ( mnw, ဝါရေဝ်ရောဝ်, my, ဝါရီရူး, ; also known as Wagaru; 20 March 1253 – 14 January 1307) was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic a ...
, founder of the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy Pegu. In 1831, to prevent Moulmein's identity from fading away, Sitke Maung Htaw Lay, who later served as Magistrate of Moulmein restored the pagoda with the funds raised by public subscriptions. Being situated on the range of hill, the pagoda overlooks the city, nearby islands, Gulf of Martaban, surrounding rivers and the limestone mountains of Kayin State
Kayin State ( my, ကရင်ပြည်နယ်, ; kjp, ဖၠုံခါန်ႋကၞင့်, italics=no; ksw, ကညီကီၢ်စဲၣ်, ), also known by the endonyms Kawthoolei and Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The ...
in the east. Rudyard Kipling is believed to have written his famous "Lookin' lazy at the sea" line at this pagoda in 1890.![Htaw Lay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Htaw_Lay.jpg)
*
* U-zina Pagoda: The pagoda is one of the principal pagodas situated on the range of hill. According to legend, the pagoda contains a hair of Buddha and was built during the reign of King Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
, the great protector of Buddhism. The U-zina pagoda was named after the sage, U-zina who restored it in 1838. Prior to this the pagoda had been known as Kyaik Pa-dhan pagoda.
*Princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
Ashin Hteik Suhpaya's tomb: Princess Ashin Hteik Suhpaya (also known as Princess Myat Phaya Galay) who was the fourth daughter of King Thibaw, the last king of Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
returned to Burma from exile in 1915 and lived at her mansion on West Cantonment Road, Mawlamyine until her death in 1936. Her tomb is located near Kyaikthanlan Pagoda. The remains of her son, Prince Taw Phaya Nge and her daughter, Princess Hteik Su Phaya Htwe were also buried in the tomb in the later years.
* First Baptist Church: The church is Myanmar's first Baptist church and it was initially built in 1827 by the legendary Adoniram Judson, a 19th-century American missionary who compiled the first Burmese-English dictionary. The church is regarded as a landmark for its significance to the Baptist movement worldwide.
* St Matthew's Church: It was the first English Church (Anglican Church) built in Myanmar. It was initially erected in 1832 and the current handsome structure was rebuilt in 1887. It was designed and restored by the English architects James Piers St Aubyn
James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations.
Early life
St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicara ...
and Henry J. Wadling of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and the foundation stone was laid by Sir Charles Crosthwaite
Sir Charles Haukes Todd Crosthwaite (5 December 1835, Dublin – 28 May 1915) served as Chief Commissioner of the British Crown Colony of Burma from March 1887 to December 1890.
Early life
He was born in Dublin, educated at Merchant Taylors ...
, then Chief Commissioner of Burma. It is of red brick, the capitals of interior pillars being stone, and is said to be a model of English Church at Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. George Orwell attended the church during his days as Imperial Policeman in Moulmein in 1926 and the church compound has grave stones of his relatives. During the Japanese conquest of Burma in WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Japanese Army stored salt in the church. Though the church is still in use, it is in a state of decay and is in urgent need of conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
.
* St Patrick's Church: The St Patrick's Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church was built in 1829; the French people
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially the nati ...
constructed the clock tower of the church around 1854. St Patrick's school in the church compound was once a boarding school for the children of the elite in colonial times. The tragic love story of Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
's Prince Sukkasem, the heir to the Lanna
The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...
throne, and a Mon commoner girl started during his time at this school in the 1890s and was immortalised in Thai folk song and literature.
*Police Commissioner Headquarters
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
: Built in 1826 on a hill in Than Lwin Park. The impressive colonial building was the place where George Orwell worked as Assistant District Superintendent in 1926.
* Old Moulmein Prison: The Mawlamyine's colonial-era prison was initially built in the 1830s. Sir Richard Hieram Sankey
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Hieram Sankey (22 March 1829 – 11 November 1908) was an officer in the Royal (Madras) Engineers in the East India Company's army in British India, later transferring to the British Army after the Indian Rebellio ...
, an Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
military engineer who is credited with designing much of the infrastructure of the Indian city of Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, used to work at this prison as Superintendent of the jail in 1860. George Orwell was believed to have witnessed hanging there and it is the setting of his short story " A Hanging (1931)". During WWII, following the Fall of Singapore
The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...
in 1942, Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
soldiers transferred from Changi Prison
Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.
History First prison
Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...
were held in the Moulmein Prison by the Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
before they were sent to the notorious death railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...
construction. In 2015, the prison was closed and relocated to a new facility near Yedwingone village in Kyaikmawyaw township.
*Yadanabonmyint Monastery
Yadanabonmyint Monastery ( my, ရတနာဘုံမြင့်ကျောင်း), also known as the Queen Seindon Monastery ( my, စိန်တုံးမိဖုရားကျောင်း), is a historic Buddhist monastery in M ...
: It is also known as Queen Seindon Monastery. It is known for its craftsmanship.
Islands
* Bilu Island
Bilu Island ( my, ဘီလူးကျွန်း; mnw, တေကာ့ခမိုင်း; Bilu Kyun, lit. "ogre island") is a Deltaic island of Salween(Thanlwin) River in Chaungzon Township, Mon State, located west of Mawlamyine. The isl ...
(Belu-kyun): The local meaning of the island's name is Ogre Island. The island is famous for handicraft and Mon traditional culture.
* Gaungsay Kyun Island (Shampoo Island): A tiny island lies between Mottama
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
and the north bank of Mawlamyine is called Gaungsay Kyun island, literally: "Head Washing Island". In ancient times, the clear pristine water obtained from a small rocky outcrop of the island was carried to the palace and used by Burmese kings at royal hair-washing ceremonies during Thingyan
Thingyan (, ; Arakanese: ; from Sanskrit '' saṁkrānti,'' which means "transit f the Sun from Pisces to Aries) is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in ...
. In colonial days, the island was known in its European name "Crow Island" for being the home of all the crows in the city.
Others
* Mon State Cultural Museum (Mon Ethnic Cultural Museum)
*Mottama
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
(formerly Martaban): A small town located opposite to the north bank of Mawlamyine was the first capital of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom
( Mon) ( Burmese)
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu
, common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam)
, era = Warring states
, status = Kingdom
, event_pre ...
in the 13th and 14th centuries after the collapse of Pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
(Bagan) Empire in 1287. During Burmese–Siamese wars between the 16th and 18th centuries, Martaban was an important rallying spot for Burmese troops moving from Upper Burma to sack Ayutthaya Kingdom. Between 2nd-century BCE and 15th-century CE, Martaban was a main trading port in the historic Maritime Silk Road
The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the Maritime history, maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia, China, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian peninsula, Somalia, Egypt and Europe. It began by the 2n ...
that connects Korea, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, Horn of Africa and all the way to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and eventually Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
or Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The ''Martaban jars'' were imported and got its namesake from this Martaban port city as early as the fourteenth century.
* Pa-Auk Forest Monastery
The Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, known in Burmese as the Pa-Auk Tawya (), is a Theravāda monastery in the village of Pa-Auk in Mawlamyine, Mon State. Situated in a tropical forest along the Dawna Range, it is the main monastery complex and medita ...
: The main monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
complex and meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
centre is located in a forest near Pa-Auk village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
along the Taung Nyo Mountain range 15 kilometers southeast of Mawlamyine. The monastery is known for the practice of meditation. 500–1000 meditators from over 20 countries reside in the monastery.
* Win Sein reclining Buddha
Win or WIN may refer to:
* A victory
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Win!'', a 2016 American film
Literature
* Win (Coben novel), ''Win'' (Coben novel), a 2121 novel by Harlan Coben
* WIN (pacifist magazine), published by the War Resisters Lea ...
: 29 km south of Mawlamyine is the world's largest reclining Buddha at Mudon. It is approached by a roadway with 500 life size statues of Arahant disciples of Buddha and a hall whose chamber walls display scenes of Buddha's lifetime, and the underworld.
* Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery
The Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery ( Burmese: သံဖြူဇရပ်စစ်သင်္ချိုင်း) is a prisoner of war cemetery for victims of Japanese imprisonment who died building the Death Railway in Burma. It is at the Burmes ...
: 64 kilometers south of Mawlamyine is prisoners-of-war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
cemetery and the notorious death railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...
connected with the Bridge over the River Kwai
''The Bridge over the River Kwai'' (french: Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï) is a novel by the French novelist Pierre Boulle, published in French in 1952 and English translation by Xan Fielding in 1954. The story is fictional but uses the construct ...
. The cemetery contains the graves of 3,770 British, Australian, Dutch and other soldiers. It was formally opened on 10 December 1946 by General Aung San
Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947) was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his go ...
and then Governor Sir Hubert Rance
Major General Sir Hubert Elvin Rance (17 July 1898 – 24 January 1974) was a British politician who was the last Governor of British Burma between 1946 and 1948, during the transition from Japanese to British colonial administration. Later he ...
.
Economy
Mawlamyine is famous for its tropical fruits[ and for its ]cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
[ as indicated in the popular Burmese expression, " Mandalay for the speaking, Yangon for the bragging, and Mawlamyine for the eating." ( မန္တလေးစကား ရန်ကုန်အကြွား မော်လမြိုင်အစား) Among its tropical fruits, Mawlamyine ]pomelo
The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...
, durian and rambutan
Rambutan (; taxonomic name: ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to s ...
are traded countrywide.
Mawlamyine had several sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s and rice mills as 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 ...
and rice were transported down the Salween. It was once a busy shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
center and remains an important port. At least one major British shipping line had some of their ships built here. The teak "country-built" ships generally had a longer service life than those constructed from European hardwoods. The city had a solar-powered plant for extracting salt from seawater
Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...
and a diesel electric
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
plant.[ On the night of 1 December 2008, a fire that started from a floating restaurant destroyed the larger of city's two markets called the lower bazaar.
]
Industry
The city has two industrial zones. Of two, the newly opened Kyauktan industrial zone features a variety of different business enterprises, including zinc, barbed wire, ready-mix cement, food and drink production, textiles, gold purification, ice factories, shoe production facilities, furniture enterprise, plastic enterprises, cool seafood storage and car accessory businesses.
As a cross-border investment, the state-of-the-art combined-cycle gas power plant in Mawlamyine was constructed by Singapore's United Overseas Bank
United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean multinational banking corporation headquartered in Singapore, with branches mostly found in most Southeast Asian countries. Founded in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by S ...
(UOB) backed Singapore company Asiatech Energy. The Mawlamyine power plant brings a sustainable supply of power to residents and businesses in Mon State.
In July 2017, to make the country's oil and gas industry more efficient, the Myanmar Investment Commission
The Myanmar Investment Commission ( my, မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ကော်မရှင်, abbreviated MIC) is a government-appointed body under the Ministry of Inv ...
(MIC) granted an approval to a subsidiary of Singapore-based firm to construct an offshore supply base in the 46 acres of river front land of Mawlamyine. It would provide a wide range of services to the operators of oil and gas field
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in Porosity, porous or fractured rock formations.
Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the ...
s in the waters off the coast in the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
.
Transport hub
Mawlamyine is the western terminus and an important part of the East-West Economic Corridor
East West (or East and West) may refer to:
*East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture
Arts and entertainment
Books, journals and magazines
*''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...
. The 1450-kilometre east–west economic corridor links the South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
at Da Nang to Mawlamyine through Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. By using the East-West Economic Corridor, the travel time between 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 ...
and Yangon is just three days, compared with the two to three weeks needed for conventional marine transportation
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used thro ...
via the Straits of Malacca. Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
's Nippon Express started land transportation services between Thailand and Myanmar in 2016.
Flora
File:Mawlamyine pomelo.JPG, Mawlamyine Pomelo
File:Mawlamyine durians.jpg, Durian
File:Mawlamyine rubber.jpg, Rubber plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
File:Mawlamyine Vegetation.jpg, Durian plantation
File:Moulmein rosewood.jpg, Moulmein Rosewood
File:Mafai1619.JPG, '' Baccaurea ramiflora''
File:Paphiopedilum parishii (Rchb. f.) Stein, drawn by Charles Parish, painted by Eleanor Parish - 1867.png, Paphiopedilum parishii
''Paphiopedilum parishii'' is a species of orchid found in northern and western Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Yunnan and Assam, in montane forests at 1200–2200 m above sea level. It is named after Charles Samuel Pollock Parish, an English botanist ...
, native to Moulmein discovered by Charles Parish and wife
File:Tuni (Kashmiri- तूनी) (2560742630).jpg, Moulmein Cedar
Culture
Mawlamyine provides a multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
dimension despite a Buddhist Mon majority. Buddhist cultural dominance is as old as Mawlamyine, but the British annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
and American missionaries in the early 19th century introduced Christianity. Many of the relics of the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
remain along with Hindu temples, Chinese temples, mosques and even a slice of Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
, reflecting Mawlamyine's great diversity.
The First Baptist Church in Mawlamyine was constructed in 1827 by the legendary Adoniram Judson, the first Caucasian Protestant missionary sent from North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
to Myanmar. The building is a masterful blend of Western and local elements, with the materials and building technology speaking directly to Mon cultural traditions and crafts expertise. In 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar announced that it gave an award of $125,000 to World Monuments Fund (WMF) to restore the historic First Baptist Church in Mawlamyine through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation
The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is one of many programs run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as part of its mission of public diplomacy through educational and cultural programming and ...
.
The Mon State Cultural Museum exhibits the ancient cultural relics of Mon people
The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and s ...
and divans used by a Konbaung princess who resided in Mawlamyine.
Education
Mawlamyine has 13 public high schools, two institutes, a college and three universities.
The University of Mawlamyine, established in 1953, is the major university for the south eastern region and offers both bachelor's and master's degree programs in liberal arts and sciences. It is the third oldest Arts and Science university in the country after the University of Yangon
'')
, mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom.
, established =
, type = Public
, rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun
, undergrad = 4194
, postgrad = 5748
, city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon
, state = Yangon Regio ...
(est. 1878) and the University of Mandalay
Mandalay University (also translated as University of Mandalay; my, မန္တလေးတက္ကသိုလ် ) is a public liberal arts and science university located in Mandalay, Myanmar and one of the sixteen autonomous universities un ...
(est. 1925). It is one of the few universities in Myanmar that offers a degree in Marine Science. Its Marine Science Laboratory in Setse, a coastal town about 83 km south of Mawlamyine, was the first of its kind in Myanmar. Technological University (Mawlamyine) offers technological and engineering courses. The Mawlamyine campus of Yezin Agricultural University
Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) ( my, ရေဆင်း စိုက်ပျိုးရေး တက္ကသိုလ် ), located in Yezin, is the only institution of higher learning in agriculture in Myanmar. YAU also has major campuses ...
, administered by Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI), offers agriculture courses. Government Technical Institute (Mawlamyine) offers vocational engineering courses located in outskirts of the city. Mawlamyine Education College and Mawlamyine Institute of Education
Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...
are also located in the city.
The St. Patrick's School (now B.E.H.S. No. 5) founded by the De La Salle Brothers in 1860, Morton Lane-Judson School, (formerly Morton Lane Girls' School, now B.E.H.S No.6) founded in 1867 and Shin Maha Buddhaghosa National School (now B.E.H.S. No.9) founded in 1899 are a few of the oldest public high schools in Myanmar.
The first international student
International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying.
In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...
of Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
, Class of 1864, Maung Shaw Loo Maung may be,
*Maung people of Australia
**Maung language
Places
*Batu Maung
Vehicle
*Pindad Maung
People
*Maung, an honorific in Burmese names#Honorifics, Burmese names
*Maung Maung (disambiguation)
*Cynthia Maung
*Maung Khin
*Kin Maung
*Wi ...
was the first Burmese physician of Western medicine and the first Burmese to study Western medicine in the United States.
Sports
The 10,000-seat Yamanya Stadium
Yamanya Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, located in downtown Mawlamyine, Myanmar.
Yamanya Stadium also hosts other local and regional football tournaments. Now, this stadium is under construction. Southern Myanmar F.C., Southern Myanmar F.C ...
is one of the main venues for local and regional football tournaments. The stadium is also a home for Southern Myanmar F.C., a Myanmar National League
The MPT Myanmar National League ( my, မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which co ...
(MNL) football club.
Health care
Public Hospitals
* Mawlamyine Women and Children Hospital (former Ellen Mitchell Memorial Hospital)
* Mawlamyine General Hospital
* Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital
*Mawlamyine University Hospital
* Mawlamyine Traditional Medicine Hospital
International relations
Sister cities
Mawlamyine established a Friendship City agreement with Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
, United States in 2016. A student exchange program between Mawlamyine University and IPFW of Fort Wayne began in 2017.
Others
A primary road in Novena
A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...
, 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 ...
and a road ('' Solok Moulmein'') in George Town, Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
were named after the city's old name, Moulmein.
Gallery
File:Kyaik Tan Lan.JPG, Kyaikthanlan Pagoda
The Kyaikthanlan Pagoda ( my, ကျိုက်သလ္လံ စေတီ) is the tallest Burmese pagoda, Buddhist pagoda in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar, standing at a height of .
Built in 875 AD during the reign of Mon kingdoms, Mon Kin ...
at night
File:Mon King bell.JPG, Old bell donated by Mon King in AD 1533
File:Mawlamyine Railway Station.JPG, Mawlamyine Railway Station
File:Mawlamyine 20.JPG, Thanlwin public park
File:Sunset over Thanlwin River (8).jpg, Sunset over Salween (Than Lwin) River
File:Mawlamyine 253.JPG, Technological University (Mawlamyine)
File:Mawlamyine Coach Station.JPG, Mawlamyine Coach Station
File:Mawlamyine MMR011001701, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (51).jpg, Queen Sein Don Monastery
File:Moulmein 2 - panoramio.jpg, A roundabout in Mawlamyine
File:Mawlamyine MMR011001701, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (42).jpg, St Patrick's School (now BEHS 5)
File:Ataran suspension bridge.jpg, Attaran Suspension Bridge
File:Mon State Government Office.jpg, Victorian style clock tower (Mon State Government Office in the distance)
File:Church in Mawlamyine.jpg, Saint Patrick Church (Mawlamyine)
File:U Zee Na Pagoda 2.jpg, U-zina Pagaoda / Kyaik Pa-dhan pagoda
File:Mawlamyine MMR011001701, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (17).jpg, A jetty in Mawlamyine
See also
* University of Mawlamyine
* Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyine)
*Mon people
The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and s ...
* Attaran Bridge (Mawlamyine)
* Sittoung Bridge (Bilin)
*Kyaiktiyo Pagoda
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda ( my, ကျိုက်ထီးရိုးဘုရား or ; mnw, ကျာ်သိယဵု ; also known as Golden Rock) is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar. It is a small pagoda () built on th ...
*Pa-Auk Sayadaw
Mawlamyine Township ( my, မော်လမြိုင်မြို့နယ်) is a township of Mawlamyine District in the Mon State of Myanmar. The principal town is Mawlamyine.
Demographics 2014
The 2014 Myanmar Census reported that ...
References
External links
Photos of Moulmein
Mawlamyine
''Weather Underground
The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
''
Tide table
''Tides Chart''
{{Authority control
Township capitals of Myanmar
Populated places in Mon State
Old Cities of Mon people
Ports and harbours of Myanmar
Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean