Myanmar is the largest
country in South-East Asia countries. Myanmar is
bordered on the North and North-East by China,
on the East and South-East by Laos and Thailand,
on the South by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of
Bengal and on the West by Bangladesh and India.
The total area of Myanmar is 677,000 sq.km. It
stretches for 936km from East to West and
2,051km from North to South. The topography of
Myanmar can roughly be divided into three parts:
the Western Hills Region, the Central Valley
Region and the Eastern Hill Region. At the
Northern side of the country, there is the
highest mountain in South-East Asia, called
Hkakaborazi, 5,881 miles above the sea level.
There are four Principles Rivers, namely
Ayeyarwaddy, Chindwin, Thanlwin and Sittaung run
down from North to South and finally flowing
into Andaman Sea. The rivers in our country are
useful for not only the livelihood of the people
but also for transportation.
The climate of Myanmar is roughly divided
into three seasons; summer season, rainy season
and cold season. From March to the middle of May
are summer months; the rain falls from the
middle of May to the end of October and the cold
season starts in November and ends in the end of
February. Myanmar is worthy to visit the whole
year round because of its vast area.
There are seven states and seven divisions.
Seven States are Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin,
Mon, Rakhine and Shan. Seven Divisions are
Sagaing, Taninthayi, Bago, Magwe, Mandalay,
Yangon and Ayeyarwaddy. According to that states
and divisions, there are Eight major races and
(135) national groups. The major races are
Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Myanmar, Mon,
Rakhine and Shan. They have over one hundred
languages for speaking and dialects. Myanmar is
the main language in Myanmar. According to the
statistics, the population of Myanmar is 51
million and Yangon has a population of nearly 5
million. The largest population city is
Ayeyarwaddy division and the smallest population
city is Kayah state.
The historical background of Myanmar is
centuries ago, the Mon-Khamer, Tibeto-Burman and
Thai-Chinese, tribes of Mongol in search of
fertile lands, migrated from central Asia to
south wards settled in the land of Myanmar.
After King Anawrahter ascended the throne of
Bagan in the year A.D 1044, he organized and
founded the first Myanmar Nainggan. In the
middle of 16th century, King Bayintnaung who
marched and conquered the Ayuthaya established
the second Myanmar Empire. King Alaungpaya
founded the third Myanmar Empire in 1752. It was
during the zenith of the Konbaung Dynasty that
the British moved into Myanmar. Myanmar became a
British colony after three Anglo-Myanmar Wars in
1824, 1852 and 1885. During the 2nd world War in
January 1942, 30 youthful Myanmar patriots who
had vowed to liberate Myanmar from British
colonialism led by General Aung San marched
together into Myanmar with the Japanese Army.
And British forces from Myanmar were driven out
into India. Although the Japanese authorities
promised Independence for Myanmar, they imposed
Fascist rule on the country. Therefore, the
newly created patriotic Myanmar forces rose up
against the Fascist invaders. The victorious
Myanmar resistance paved way of the return of
the British, who had sinister designs to
re-colonize Myanmar. General Aung San Managed to
unify Myanmar and the independent sovereignty of
Myanmar was proclaimed on the 4th January in
1948, after more than 100 years of British
colonial administration. After two years getting
independence, independent monument is built for
commemoration of the people in Mahabandola Park.
We can rise up our national flag bravely at the
top of the pole from the year of 1948 to until
now.
Myanmar is with her forests, river system,
mountain ranges, minerals, gems, cultivable
areas, a long west line and literate population,
Myanmar could be classified as a country rich in
natural human resources. Major economic in
Myanmar is agriculture. Myanmar process a large
land area in the South-East Asia region. She
still has a vest potential of land resources for
cultivation and for further expense of the
cultivable land. As rice is our staple food, it
is mainly cultivated. After paddy, sesame,
groundnuts, maize, beans and pulses are the most
important crops in terms of the area cultivate.
Myanmar is indeed very rich in forest
resources, as the forest cover about 50.87% of
the total land areas .Teak is highly reputable
in the world market. Myanmar enjoys the largest
share of the world teak trade. Moreover, there
are many hardwood and softwood species which can
be exploited for processing value added products
commercially. Prospects for development of
jewellery manufacturing and jade carving is
quite evident. Other economic are livestock and
fishery, mining, oil, gas, trade, and service
and so on.
Classic product of an ancient heritage with
and enduring charm are the art and crafts of
Myanmar. Myanmar Handicrafts are silk and cotton
weaving, lacquer ware, gold and silver work,
wood, bone, marble carving, tapestry and
pottery.
Myanmar lies in a meeting in a place of two
of the world's great civilizations. They are
China and India. However, Myanmar's culture is
neither that of India nor that of China
exclusively, but the blend of both interspersed
with Myanmar native traits and characteristics.
Myanmar culture entirely base on Theravada
Buddhism. About 89.4% of the population, mainly
Myanmar, Shans, Mons, Rakhines and some Kayins
are Buddhists. The rest are Christians, Muslims,
Hindus and Animists.
Myanmar is not only rich in natural
resources but also famous for historical places
such as Shwedagon pagoda at Yangon in Yangon
Division, Mahamuni Pagoda at Mandalay City in
Mandalay Division, unbelievable Leg-rowers at
Nyaung-Shwe (Inle Lake), Taunggyi, the countless
pagodas at Pindaya cave in Shan State, Bagan,
Mrauk-U and recreation activity at the beach.
There are (10) beaches in our country totally.
Among them Ngapali, Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha are
more popular than others.
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