Myitkyina

Myitkyina မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့
Myitkyina Location in Burma
Coordinates: 25°23′0″N 97°24′0″E / 25.383333°N 97.4°E / 25.383333; 97.4
Country	Burma
Division	Kachin State
District	Myitkyina District
Township	Myitkyina Township
Population (2005)
– Total	146,544
– Ethnicities	Kachin, Shan, Bamar, Chinese, Gorkha
– Religions	Buddhism, Christianity
Time zone	MST (UTC+6.30)
Area code(s)	74
[1]

Myitkyina (Burmese: မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့; MLCTS: mrac kri: na: mrui., pronounced [mjɪʔtɕíná]) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located 1,480 kilometers (920 mi) from Yangon, and 785 kilometers (488 mi) from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Myit-son (Burmese for confluence) of its two headstreams (the Mali and N'mai rivers).^[2] It is the northernmost river port and railway terminus in Myanmar.^[3]

History

Myitkyina has been a important trading town between China and Burma since ancient times.

Blamindin Bridge at Myitkyina

American Baptist missionary George J. Geis and his wife arrived in Myitkyina in the late 1890s and in 1900 requested permission to build a misison there.^[4]

In August 1944 during World War II, Myitkyina fell to the Allied forces under General Joseph Stilwell after a prolonged siege and heavy fighting between Nationalist Chinese divisions, the Chindits, and Merrill's Marauders of the Northern Combat Area Command and the besieged elements of the 33rd Imperial Japanese Army under General Masaki Honda. The town was strategically important not only because of its rail and water links to the rest of Burma, but also because it was on the planned route of the Ledo Road.^[2][5]

As the capital of the state, it has government offices, and a greater population than other cities in the state. The city has a population of approximately 150,000, with a mix of Kachin, Shan, Bamar peoples and some Chinese and Indians.^[6] Fragrant rice produced near Myitkyina, called khat cho, is considered the best in Myanmar.^{[citation needed]}

The Kachin language is the common language among the Kachin, but Burmese is the national language and everyone can speak Burmese. It has two big markets. The city is home to Myitkyina University, a teachers college, a nurses training school, and a computer college, and various Christian theological seminaries and colleges affiliated with several seminaries in the U.S. and Asia, notably Kachin Theological College-Nawng Nan.

Major religions are Theravada Buddhism and Baptist Christianity, but other religions such as animism, Hinduism and Islam are also practised. Foreigners are now free to visit Myitkyina without prior government permission.

Climate data for Myitkyina
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	24.2 (75.6)	26.7 (80.1)	30.0 (86.0)	33.3 (91.9)	32.7 (90.9)	30.6 (87.1)	30.0 (86.0)	30.6 (87.1)	31.2 (88.2)	30.3 (86.5)	27.4 (81.3)	24.6 (76.3)	29.30 (84.74)
Average low °C (°F)	10.3 (50.5)	12.7 (54.9)	16.4 (61.5)	19.5 (67.1)	22.3 (72.1)	24.1 (75.4)	24.2 (75.6)	24.3 (75.7)	23.4 (74.1)	21.2 (70.2)	16.0 (60.8)	11.6 (52.9)	18.83 (65.90)
Rainfall mm (inches)	8 (0.31)	18 (0.71)	26 (1.02)	46 (1.81)	159 (6.26)	535 (21.06)	513 (20.2)	411 (16.18)	285 (11.22)	158 (6.22)	28 (1.1)	9 (0.35)	2,196 (86.46)
Sunshine hours	248	224	248	210	186	120	124	155	150	186	210	248	2,309
Source no. 1: Climate Charts
Source no. 2: World Climate Guide

Education

• Technological University, Myitkyina
• Computer University, Myitkyina
• Myitkyina University
• Myitkyina Education College

Airport

• Myitkyina Airport

Military

• Northern SOC (HQ at Myitkyina)
• Nanpong Air Base headquarters (former 503 Air Base)

Notes

1. ^ "National Telephone Area Codes". Myanmar Yellow Pages. http://www.myanmar-yellowpages.com/information/page_14.asp. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Myitkyina, Myanmar". Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/400392/Myitkyina. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
3. ^ "Train travel in Myanmar(Burma)". seat61.com. http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm#Mandalay%20-%20Myityina. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
4. ^ Baptist missionary magazine, Volume 80. American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, American Baptist Missionary Union,. 1900. p. 196. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nAMPAAAAIAAJ&q=George+J.+Geis&dq=George+J.+Geis&hl=en&ei=JhPYTMTkC4mLhQeB5tShBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAjgK. 
5. ^ Gardner, Major John J. "Battle of Myitkyina". http://www.gardnerworld.com/cbi/myitkyina.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-15. 
6. ^ "MYITKYINA". my-myitkyina.com. http://www.my-myitkyina.com/mh_html/mka.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-24. 

External links

• Satellite Map of Myitkyina from Google Map
• Kachin State map Asterism
• http://www.kachinstate.com
• http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0834638.html

Coordinates: 25°23′N 97°24′E / 25.383°N 97.4°E / 25.383; 97.4