Taunggyi

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**Taunggyi**
Demographics
Taunggyi
Burmese:	တောင္‌က္ရီးမ္ရုိ့
- IPA	[tàundʒí mjoṵ]
- MLCTS	taung kri: mrui.
Admin. division:	Shan State
Area:	km²
Population:	200,000
Coordinates:	20°47'N, 96°58'E
Mayor:
Ethnicities:	Bamar, Burmese Chinese, Burmese Indians, Shan
Religions:	Animism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism

A view of Taunggyi

Taunggyi (Burmese: တောင္‌က္ရီးမ္ရုိ့; MLCTS: taung kri: mrui.), is the capital of Shan State, Myanmar. Taunggyi has a population of approximately 200,000, making it the fourth largest city in Myanmar (right behind Mawlamyine), and is elevated 1400 meters (4590 feet) above sea level. The name Taunggyi means "big mountain" in the Burmese language, and is named after the ridge on the east of the city, and the prominient high point on it is called the Taung-chun or "The Crag." Although within the Shan State, the Shans are not the predominant population of this city. The Inthas and the Pa-Os form the most visible population. Recently there has been a flood of Chinese immigrants. Taunggyi lies within the Myelat region of Shan State.

1 History
2 Transportation
3 Culture
4 References

[edit] History

Prior to British colonisation, Taunggyi was a small village of a few huts. The area, which lay in a depression of the Sintaung Hills of the Shan Plateau, was populated by the Taungthu ethnicity.

During British occupation, the town became the chief city and capital of the Southern Shan States. It was within the sub-state of Yawnghwe. Taunggyi's modern development began in 1894, when the British moved their adminstrative offices from Maing Thauk (Fort Stedman) on the eastern shores of Inle Lake to the higher elevation of Taunggyi, for health and geographical reasons. By 1906, there existed a thousand houses. Because of civil unrest throughout the Shan States during the early 1900s, Taunggyi served as the chief garrison for military police. Taunggyi also served as a supplying centre to the Shan States, and catered to persons of many nationalities.

[edit] Transportation

The main access to Taunggyi is by road. A railway line that passes through Taunggyi was recently built in 1995, but at the moment it offers no passenger service. Regular railway passenger service to the rest of the country is through the town of Shwenyaung, twelve miles to the west. The nearest airport is in the town of Heho, 24 miles by road to the west of Taunggyi.

[edit] Culture

Taunggyi is the melting pot for the Myelat area of the Shan State. In addition to the indigeneous Pa-O and Intha, there is a significant popuplation of Shans, Burmese, Chinese and Indians. Like in most of Burma, influence of Buddhism is most evidenced by tne monasteries scattered throughout the city. However, being a relatively new city, the monasteries are not of historical signifcance and architecturally not unique. There is a also a significant Christian popuplation, with a Roman Catholic church and its associated seminiary, as well as a Baptist Church, both established by early missionaries. There is also a smaller Anglican Church, which originally served the British administrators, but recently it has fallen into a state of disrepair. Two mosques serve the Muslim population of the city, one for the Muslims of Indian origin, and one for the Chinese Panthay Muslims. There are also a few temples serving the Chinese Buddhist community.

The Taunggyi area is a popular tourist destination. The city itself has an interesting five-day market, where farmers from around the area would come to the Taunggyi on market day and sell fresh produce in the open market, but with more development of the city, the sigificance of market day has been lessened. However, the market-day tradition continues strong in the outlying small towns. Nearby, Inlay Lake is the home of the unique Intha culture. The drive to the Pindaya caves provides a good view of the Myelat country. Nearer to Taunggyi at the Kat-ku, one can see hundreds of stupas dating to the 16th century.

There is no significant industry in Taunggyi. It used to be the trans-shipment point for many of the agricultural products of southern Shan State. However, due to recently imposed zoning regulations, most of these operations have been moved to the surrounding new town of Aye-Tharyar.

Being the capital of the Shan State, Taunggyi hosts many govermenent offices. The city is also the headquarters of Eastern Command of the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army), and the army occupies a signficant portion of the northeast area of the city.