Yangon |
History of Yangon |
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The brothers returned home and made landfall at Pagoda Point in the south-west coast of Myanmar. They sent word to king Ukkalapa of their arrival with the sacred Hairs. The King welcomed the Hairs with great ceremony at Asitanzana, north-west of present Yangon.
When the brothers asked Sakka where the Hairs should be shrined, Sakka could not tell them where the earlier relics were enshrined because they were of such antiquity and he was not that old. However, Sule Nat knew where Kakusandha Buddha's staff was enshrined, Yawhani Nat knew where Konagamana Buddha's water-dipper was enshrined. Hmawbi Nat revealed that he had been assigned to guard the sacred objects. Finally, Gautama Buddha's Hairs were enshrined and stupa consecrated on the full moon day of Tabaung (March 6,c.588 B.C.). Along time after that, there that, there being no one to worship at the Lagun shrine, it fell into ruin and was covered with jungle.Tradition states that 200 years after Buddha's Parinirvana in 543 BC. Sona and Uttara, two monks from Sri Lanka brought King Asoka to the Pagoda. The King had the jungle cleared and the Pagoda repaired. In the fifth century A.D. King Duttabaung paid homage at the Pagoda. In the 11th century, King Anawratha of Bagan offered gold and silver umbrellas and built a pagoda near the town of Twante across the Yangon River. Dalla, which is now a town on the bank opposite Yangon, was then located on the Twante Ridge and was more important than Dagon. Dagon at that time lay in low lying often water-logged land. Sule Pagoda, now in downtown Yangon, stood on a small island in the swamp, to the west down to he Hlaing River and Yangon /River to the south .The Shwedagon (then called Kyak Lagun in Mon) was reached across a causeway.The discovery of a votive of the Bagan period at Tadagale to the north of Yangon shows that the laterite ridge at the end of which Shwedagon lay was a scene of activity in the Bagan period and the ridge may have provided a road southwards to the Shwedagon Pagoda and Dagon Village beyond. After the collapse of Bagan in the 13th century and the rise of Mon power in the 14th with the capital at Bago, Dagon became a place of some importance, though not as a commercial port but as a centre of religious life. At onetime Dagon was reported to contain thirty-two ordination halls Binnya U (1348-83), Mon king of Bago created a pagoda of height 18 m. (60'). Dagon was also a place of refuge for princes who did not find Bago safe. Binnya U's son, Binnya Nwe, later King Rajadarit, who had a chronicle to himself, fled to Dagon when he ran away with his half-sister Talamidaw. Dagon at that time was not a walled city but a fort of logs.
Successive Mon King of the 15th century raised the height of Pagoda by encasing earlier pagoda and embellishing the new. King Binnyayan (1426-46)cut down the hill and enlarged the base to five terraces to sustain the height but before he could finish the work he died. The work was continued by his successor, Binnyawaru (1446-50) who was helped by his mother, Queen Shin Saw Bu, the only regnant queen of Myanmar. She was ably assisted by the commander of the army, soldiers, attendants and the common people. They raised the height of the Pagoda to 90.6 m(302'). Queen Shin Saw Bu was the first to gild the Pagoda. She went on the scales and let them take her weight which was a bout 40 kg.(90 lbs). She donated that weight in gold. She dedicated a vast expanse of glebe lands which virtually covered the whole of modern Yangon. Her successor King Dhammazedi created the stone inscriptions standing on Pagoda Hill. He also donated a huge bell which a Portugese adventurer took away but which fell into the river and has not been recovered. In 1539, Tabinshwehti, who had conquered Bago, placed a jewelled finial on the Pagoda. Casper de Cruz, a Dominican priest, who was the country between 1550-60 said that "the Brames (Burmese) were a great people, very rich of gold and precious stones, chiefly of rubies; a proud nation and valiant. They have very rich and gallant shippings garnished with gold which they sail in the rivers; they use vessels of gold silver; their houses are of timber and well wrought. The kingdom is very great." In 1572, Bayinnaung rebuilt the Pagoda to 360' and had it reguilded. The shrine had been reduced to rubble during an earthquake in 1564.Bayinnaung embarked from Bago in a golden barge in the form of the mythical hintha bird, surmountedby a golden spire. The barge was escorted by a large fleet of 300 golden canoes and 1000 war boats which filled the Bago River as far as the eye could see. The grand fleet floated down to Dagon. Bayinnaung repeated the trip in 1581. By the end of the 16th century the Shwedagon Fair was attracting people not only from Myanmar but also from distance lands such as Laos and Cambodia. The Dagon Fair was one of the chief markets for overseas trade rivalling Bago and Thanlyin. The Delta was effecting yet another change. The Bago River too was silting up off Thanlyin, and sea-going vessels were finding it difficult to navigate the reaches opposite the town. Thus, Dagon was becoming the port of choice. After the founding of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Alaungpaya's conquest of lower Myanmar is the second most important event in the history of Dagon. May 1775 marks the beginning of the modern town when Alaungpaya, to commemorate his victory, changed its name from Dagon to Yangon, "Enmity Exhausted." Getting AroundPublic Transport in YangonBus Domestic Transport from YangonBus Food in YangonThere are a variety of food availabel in Yangon, since Yangon is populated with many different races of people such as Myanmars, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups. Restaurants are available everywhere. Chinese Food is available in China Town in Latha and Lanmadaw Township. Indian food is available in Kyauktada Township. There are some European restaurants in Yangon.
Click to
see the Restaurants in Yangon. Shopping in YangonThe main tourist destination in Yangon is the Bogyoke Market, where most of the Myanmmar made souvenirs are available. Traditional art & crafts such as Lacquerware, Paintings, Antiques, Tapestries, Textile, Souvenirs, Gems & Jewelries are available in this market and in downtown Yangon.
Entertainment in YangonTelevision StationsThe main TV Stations are located in Yangon. There are two local TV channels: TV Myanmar and Myawaddy with programs running from 7 am to 4 am; and from 4 pm to 11 pm. Most hotels also have satellite TV. Myawaddy was started on the 27th March, 1995. The average broadcasting hours is about 8 hours per day when it started. But now there's more, MRTV3, MRTV4 and Channel 5. MRTV 3 - English programs are telecast for viewers in Myanmar from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. The transmission hours for viewers from abroad are from 13:00 A.M. to 14:00 A.M., 18:00 P.M. to 19:00 P.M., and from 02:00 A.M. to 04:00 A.M. It is an English channel for oversea audience. It can be received from 126 countries and is transmitted from Thaicom-3 C Band Global beam. In addition, the Ministry have also broadcast the MRTV3 programs pm the Internet using web based video streaming system via the gateway of Myanma Posts and Telecommunications. It can be accessed on Internet through http://www.mrtv3.net.mm web site. MRTV 4 - It was launched on (15-5-2004) like a streaming video via satellite. MRTV 4 contains non-formal education programs and other entertainment programs. But for receiving, it can be matched by MMBox (Myanmar Media Box). This transmission contains educational programs from Ministries, Myanmar movies, English movies with Myanmar subtitles, cartoon programs and other entertainment programs. The transmission time is from 7 am to 11pm daily. For more quality and convenience, MRTV 4 will soon be broadcasting with Digital Video Broadcasting Technology (DVBT) terrestrial system. Channel 5 - Broadcasts movies in different languages such as English, Chinese, Indian etc ... but all the movies are subtitled in Myanmar language. There are great cartoon programs for the children too. NewspaperThree morning newspapers Myanmar Ah Lin and Kye mon in Myanmar and The New Light of Myanmar in English are published in Yangon and The Yadanabon News in Myanmar is published in Mandalay. Myanmar Times Journal (English Version) is distributed every Monday, and the Myanmar Version is distributed ever Friday. Both journals are published in Yangon. The locally published magazines in English; Golden Myanmar, Myanmar Chronicle, and Myanmar Perspective, are available in bookshops. Foreign newspapers such International Herald Tribune, as Singapore Straits Times. and some foreign magazines and periodicals are available at In-wa (Ava) Bookshop, No.232, Sule Pagoda Road. RadioRadio Myanmar broadcasts English on the
following schedule: 8:30 am to 9:00am 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm; and 9:00 pm to
10:30 pm. The new City FM broadcasts from 08:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M., and
from 13:00 P.M. to 17:00 P.M. daily, starting from January 1, 2002. Entertainment centersThere are entertainment centers such as Cinema Halls, Theatres and Karaoke Pubs. The main Music, Video and Film productions are in downtown Yangon. Traditional DancesThere are also Traditional Dance sections at Karaweik Hall, where locals entertain with different Myanmar dances. Sometimes, entertainment of the Myanmar Orchestra is also programmed. Beauty Salons and SpasYangon is full of Beauty Salons and Spas. Beautifications of hair and body are also popular in Yangon. The Spas are mainly included in the International Hotels in Yangon. General Information
Formation of YangonYangon is the largest city of Myanmar. There are 34
townships forming the city of Yangon. These townships in alphabetical
orders are : Communication ServicesInternet Services |
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