Pathein (, ; mnw, ဖာသီ, ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west 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 ...

within

Pathein Township Pathein Township (formerly Bassein West Township) is a township of Pathein District in the Ayeyawady Region of Myanmar. The administrative seat of the Township, District and Region is Pathein. The city of Pathein is the largest city in the Regi ...

on the bank of the Pathein River (Pathein), which is a western branch of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of 237,089 (2017 census). Although once a part of the Mon kingdom, Pathein has few ethnic Mon residents today. The majority are of

Bamar The Bamar (, ; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of th ...

with a significant

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

Burmese Indian Burmese Indians are a group of people of Indian origin who live in Myanmar (Burma). The term 'Burmese Indian' refers to a broad range of people from South Asia, most notably from present-day countries such as India, Bangladesh and also Pakis ...

, Rakhine and Burmese Chinese populations .

Etymology

The city's name is believed to derive from the

Old Mon 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 peop ...

name, (). "pha" means great or wide and sī/sɛm means river or sea. Pha-sɛm means a big sea. The name was corrupted to ''Bassein'' during the

British colonial period The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. An alternate theory holds that the city's name comes from the classical name of Pathein, Kusimanagara, a name used by ancient writings and the Kalyani inscriptions. Pathein itself is a corruption of Mon "Kuthen," which itself is a contraction of Kusimanagara. This is supported by the fact that the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

call Pathein "Cosmim."

History

Pathein was part of the Mon kingdom. The British built a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and established a garrison in 1826, 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 Burmes ...

. The 1983 census recorded a population of 144,092.

Geography and economy

Lying at the western edge of the

Ayeyarwady River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Orig ...

delta, on the Pathein (Ngawan) River west of

, Pathein is accessible to large vessels and despite its distance from the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

, it is the most important delta port outside of Yangon. The city is also a terminus of a branch of the main

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line which connects it to

Hinthada Hinthada ( my, ဟင်္သာတမြို့; formerly Henzada) is a city located on the Irrawaddy River in Ayeyarwady Region, Burma (Myanmar). In the 1983 census the city itself had a population of 82,005. By 2010 it had grown to 170,312. ...

, Letpadan and Yangon. In the 1990s, the road network along the Irrawaddy to Monywa was improved. The coastline along 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 betwee ...

is surrounded by the Arakan Mountains. In the area is Inye Lake, long and wide, which is known for its fishing. There is also an offshore reef at Diamond Island that is popular with bathers. Diamond Island is also noted as a

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

breeding ground. The city is a

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

-milling and export centre. Aside from several rice mills, the town has numerous sawmills and

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

workshops. The colourful handmade parasols made in Pathein are widely known throughout Burma. They are known locally as " Pathein hti". Pathein is also known for its pottery and colourful hand-made baskets and buckets. Among Pathein's most prominent industries also include production of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, mats, and Pathein halawa. The textiles produced in Pathein Industrial Zone is, however, the largest industry economy of the city. The surrounding area of Pathein are employed in agriculture and primarily cultivates

. Other crops include sesames, groundnuts, jute,

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

pulse (legume) A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, chilies as well as a wide variety of fruits like banana and

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

Climate

Pathein 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 ...

(''Am'') according to the

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 ...

system. Pathein experiences a sustained period of extraordinary rainfall from June through August. The dry season which runs from December through April, begins with noticeably cooler temperatures than the remainder of the year, but becomes sweltering as the wet season approaches in March and April.

Demographics

2014

The

2014 Myanmar Census Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unre ...

reported that Pathein had a population of 169,773, representing 59.1% of

's total population. Pathein is subdivided into 15 urban wards.

Landmarks

Pathein has a scenic waterfront and many

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, including the main sight of

Shwemokhtaw Pagoda Shwemokhtaw Pagoda ( my, ရွှေမုဋ္ဌောစေတီ) is a Buddhist pagoda in Pathein, Myanmar (formerly Bassein, Burma). The pagoda is bounded by Merchant St, Strand, Mahabandoola and Shwezedi Roads. At the southern pavilion o ...

. * Tagaung Mingala Pagoda * Settawya pagoda * Phaung Daw U Pagoda * Clock Tower * St Peter's Cathedral * Pathein University * Pathein Cultural Museum

Education

The city is home to the Pathein Education College for elementary teachers and

Pathein University Pathein (, ; mnw, ဖာသီ, ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathe ...

for arts and science students. The Computer University (Pathein) which is administered by

Ministry of Science and Technology A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

, and

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

. Technological University (Pathein) which was founded in 1999, offers engineering courses.

Sports

The 6,000-seat Ayar Stadium is one of the main venues for popular local football tournaments. The stadium is the home of Ayeyawady United 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

Pathein, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (4)

Pathein General Hospital serves people in Pathein and its surrounding districts.

Notable people

Ba U Sir Ba U ( my, ဘဦး, ; 26 May 1887 – 9 November 1963), was a Burmese politician and lawyer. He served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Burma from 1948 to 1952, and the second president of Burma from 16 March 1952 to 13 March 19 ...

, 2nd president of Myanmar (1952–1957) was born in Pathein in 1887. *Mahn

Win Maung Burmese name#Honorifics, Mahn Win Maung ( my, မန်းဝင်းမောင် ; 17 April 1916 – 4 July 1989) was a statesman who served as the third president of Burma. Early life Win Maung was an ethnic Karen people, Karen and born ...

, 3rd president of Myanmar (1957–1962) was born in a town near Pathein in 1916. *8th president

Thein Sein Thein Sein ( my, သိန်းစိန်; IPA: ; born 20 April 1944) is a Burmese politician and retired general in the Myanmar Army who served as the eighth President of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as Prime Minister ...

was also born in a village near Pathein in 1945 and studied his high school education in Pathein. *10th president

Win Myint Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth president of Myanmar from 2018 to 2021. He was removed from office in the 2021 Burmese coup d'état. He was the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Myan ...

was also born in Danuphyu town near Pathein in 1945 and started his political life in Pathein.

References

{{Most populous cities in Myanmar Populated places in Ayeyarwady Region Old Cities of Mon people Township capitals of Myanmar