Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: , ''Weng Pang U''), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the

Mandalay Region Mandalay Region (, ; formerly Mandalay Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering Sagaing Region and Magway Region to the west, Shan State to the ...

, Myanmar, some east of

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of around 255,000 in 2014.

Etymology

* *Pyin Oo Lwin (ပြင်ဦးလွင်‌) *Maymyo (မေမြို့) ('May's town') * *Taung Hlay Khar (တောင်လှေခါး) ('hillside stairs') *Taung Sa Kan (တောင်စခန်း) ('hill station') and the best-known name, (ပန်းမြို့တော်) ('city of flowers) * Remyo (ရဲမြို့ ('soldiers' town'; historically)

History

The town began as a military outpost established near a small Shan village with two dozen households on the Lashio-

trail between Nawnghkio and

. In 1897, a permanent military post was established in the town and later, because of its climate, it became a

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

and the summer capital of British Burma. The establishment in Burma (civil, commercial and military) would move to Maymyo during the hot season to escape from Rangoon's high heat and humidity. During British rule and through the 1970s, Maymyo had a large Anglo-Burmese population, but this steadily declined. During the Japanese occupation, as many Anglos were concentrated in and around Maymyo, the Japanese incarcerated many of them for fear of their loyalty to the British very close to Maymyo. Today, Maymyo still has one of the country's larger populations of Anglo-Burmese. 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

named the location Maymyo, literally 'May's Town' in Burmese, after Colonel May, a veteran of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

and commander of the Bengal Regiment temporarily stationed in the town in 1887. The military government of Burma renamed the town Pyin U Lwin, the word-for-word Burmese transcription of the Shan "City (ဝဵင်း, ''Weng⁴'') of Paang²uu⁴ (ပၢင်ႇဢူး)". The area is also the site of the decisive battle of Maymyo where the Burmese royal army under

Maha Thiha Thura Maha Thiha Thura ( ; also spelled Maha Thihathura; died 1782) was commander-in-chief of the Burmese military from 1768 to 1776. Regarded as a brilliant military strategist, the general is best known in Burmese history for defeating the Chine ...

defeated the Chinese Army in the third invasion during the Sino-Burmese War of 1765–1769.

Demographics

The town has approximately 10,000

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n and 8,000 Gurkha inhabitants who settled in Maymyo during British rule. Today, Pyin Oo Lwin has a thriving Eurasian community, consisting mostly of Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indians. There is also a diverse mix of Chinese, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Shan, Bamars (Burmese) and communities.

Climate

Educational institutions

Maymyo was an important educational centre during colonial times, with the GEHSs (Government English High Schools), such as St. Mary's, St. Michael's, St. Albert's, St. Joseph's Convent, and Colgate, are all based in the town. British settlers and colonial administrators sent their children to be educated here, both European and Anglo-Burmese children. The town was also the location of the various schools of military education open to all ethnicities. It is today home to the

Defence Services Academy The Defence Services Academy (, ) located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Myanmar military. The Ministry of Defence administered academy offers bachelor's d ...

(DSA) and the Defence Services Technological Academy (DSTA). There is a large military presence in the town. Nowadays private schools such as Soe San, Sar Pan Eain, Genius and others are thriving.

Economy

Sweater knitting, flower and vegetable gardens,

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, 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 culti ...

orchards, coffee plantations and cow rearing are the main local businesses. There has been an influx of Chinese immigrants (especially from

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

) in recent years. The city is a resort town for visitors from Myanmar's major cities during the summertime and a popular stop for foreign tourists during the winter season. Kan Daw Gyi Park Pyin Oo Lwin

Established in 1915, the National Botanical Gardens and the adjacent Pyin Oo Lwin Nursery are attractions of Pyin Oo Lwin. A

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

garden is planned for 2007. Today, Pyin Oo Lwin is noted as four centres of national economic importance. It is the centre of

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

(

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

rearing). The Sericulture Research Centre, near the National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens, has three distinct roles: the intensive planting and harvesting of mulberry trees (leaves for the silkworms, bark for handmade paper), the rearing of silkworms, and the reeling of the silk from the cocoons. It has a large research centre for indigenous medicinal plants. It has one of the country's few

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

production facilities. Pyin Oo Lwin is the centre of the country's flower and vegetable production. The most important flowers grown intensively are

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

, aster and

gladiolus ''Gladiolus'' (from Latin, the diminutive of ''gladius'', a sword) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but is usually called by its generic name (plural ''g ...

, which are exported to every corner of Myanmar throughout the year. Lastly, Pyin Oo Lwin is the centre of Myanmar's rapidly growing coffee industry. Several factories in the town process coffee beans for country-wide distribution and export.

Notable people

* Aung Min Thein (1961–2007), Burmese film director and artist * Eric Arthur Blair (better known by his pen name

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

), author, stationed in Maymyo 1922-1927 * Alan Basil de Lastic (24 September 1929 – 20 June 2000), prominent

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(Latin Rite) clergyman in

*Haji U Thein - Chairman, Islamic Religious Affairs Council of Myanmar *Hteit Tin Ma Latt - a grandchild of Prince Kanaung * Prince Taw Phaya (22 March 1924 – 12 January 2019) - the oldest grandson of King Thibaw Min, the last King of Burma. *Thakhin Ohn Pe *

Ma Chit Po Thura Burmese name#Honorifics, Ma Chit Po (; February 1908 – 8 April 1949) was a Burmese woman who was the one and only civilian woman to have received the Orders, decorations, and medals of Myanmar#Thura, Thura medal for bravery. She gathered ...

(February 1908 – 8 April 1949), the only woman to be awarded the Thura Medal * B. G. Verghese (21 June 1926 - 30 December 2014) was a senior Indian journalist born in Maymyo. He was editor of leading newspapers the

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

(1969–75) and

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

(1982–86). In 1975, he received the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

for his outstanding contribution to journalism. After 1986, he was associated with the New Delhi think-tank Centre for Policy Research.

References

External links

*
Pyin Oo Lwin: Myanmar's Highland City of Flowers
pyinoolwin.info
"Maymyo, Burma"
Maplandia.com {{Authority control Populated places in Pyin Oo Lwin District Hill stations in Myanmar Township capitals of Myanmar Shan Hills