Pyin Oo Lwin

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

File:Governor's-House.jpg, Pyinoolwin]]

File:Pyinoolwin -- Purcell Tower.JPG

The town began as a military outpost established near a small Shan village with two dozen households{{Cite book|author=Herbert Thirkell White|author-link=Herbert Thirkell White|title=A Civil Servant in Burma|location=London|publisher= E. Arnold|year=1913}} on the Lashio-Mandalay trail between Nawnghkio and Mandalay. In 1897, a permanent military post was established in the town and later, because of its climate, it became a hill station 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 named the location Maymyo, literally 'May's Town' in Burmese, after Colonel May, a veteran of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and commander of the Bengal Regiment temporarily stationed in the town in 1887.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Opeig29e4ikC&dq=shweli+river&pg=RA1-PA277|first=Sir Charles|last= Crosthwaite|year=1912|title=The Pacification of Burma|publisher=Routledge, 1968|pages=31|access-date=2009-02-01 | isbn=978-0-7146-2004-6}} 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 defeated the Chinese Army in the third invasion during the Sino-Burmese War of 1765–1769.

The town has approximately 10,000 Indian 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.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Pyin Oo Lwin, elevation {{convert|1078|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1981–2010)

|Jan high C = 23.4

|Feb high C = 25.5

|Mar high C = 28.8

|Apr high C = 30.6

|May high C = 28.1

|Jun high C = 27.0

|Jul high C = 26.4

|Aug high C = 25.9

|Sep high C = 26.1

|Oct high C = 25.9

|Nov high C = 24.6

|Dec high C = 22.9

|Jan mean C = 14.1

|Feb mean C = 16.6

|Mar mean C = 20.5

|Apr mean C = 23.5

|May mean C = 22.8

|Jun mean C = 22.8

|Jul mean C = 22.4

|Aug mean C = 22.0

|Sep mean C = 21.8

|Oct mean C = 20.6

|Nov mean C = 17.7

|Dec mean C = 14.7

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = 4.8

|Feb low C = 6.6

|Mar low C = 11.1

|Apr low C = 14.7

|May low C = 17.4

|Jun low C = 18.5

|Jul low C = 18.5

|Aug low C = 18.2

|Sep low C = 17.4

|Oct low C = 15.3

|Nov low C = 10.9

|Dec low C = 6.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 1.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 6.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 9.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 37.9

|May precipitation mm = 142.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 111.6

|Jul precipitation mm = 107.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 126.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 160.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 147.9

|Nov precipitation mm = 37.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 9.3

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.2

|Feb precipitation days = 0.7

|Mar precipitation days = 1.0

|Apr precipitation days = 3.3

|May precipitation days = 8.8

|Jun precipitation days = 8.4

|Jul precipitation days = 9.8

|Aug precipitation days = 11.6

|Sep precipitation days = 11.9

|Oct precipitation days = 9.9

|Nov precipitation days = 3.2

|Dec precipitation days = 0.8

|source 1 =NOAA {{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-II/Myanmar/48043_Pyinoolwin.xlsx

|title = Pyin Oo Lwin Climate Normals 1981-2010

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|accessdate = 16 February 2023}}

}}

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 (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.

File:Pyin U Lwin Myanmar.jpg.]]

Sweater knitting, flower and vegetable gardens, strawberry and pineapple orchards, coffee plantations and cow rearing are the main local businesses. There has been an influx of Chinese immigrants (especially from Yunnan) 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.

File:Kan Daw Gyi Park Pyin Oo Lwin.jpg

Established in 1915, the National Botanical Gardens and the adjacent Pyin Oo Lwin Nursery are attractions of Pyin Oo Lwin. A {{convert|4|acre|m2|adj=on}} orchid garden is planned for 2007.

Today, Pyin Oo Lwin is noted as four centres of national economic importance. It is the centre of sericulture (silkworm 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 production facilities.

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

File: Pyin Oo Lwin 84.JPG

File: Pyin Oo Lwin 12.JPG

File: PyinOoLwin5.jpg before alms round in Pyin Oo Lwin train station.]]

• Aung Min Thein (1961–2007), Burmese film director and artist
• Eric Arthur Blair (better known by his pen name George Orwell), author, stationed in Maymyo 1922-1927
• Alan Basil de Lastic (24 September 1929 – 20 June 2000), prominent Catholic (Latin Rite) clergyman in India
• 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=206433&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 |title=Last royal laments a crumbling nation |access-date=2012-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915222424/http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=206433&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 |archive-date=2012-09-15 }}
• Thakhin Ohn Pe
• Ma Chit Po (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 (1969–75) and The Indian Express (1982–86). In 1975, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his outstanding contribution to journalism. After 1986, he was associated with the New Delhi think-tank Centre for Policy Research.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Pyin U Lwin}}

• {{Wikivoyage-inline}}
• [http://www.pyinoolwin.info/ Pyin Oo Lwin: Myanmar's Highland City of Flowers] pyinoolwin.info
• [http://www.maplandia.com/burma/mandalay/maymyo/maymyo/ "Maymyo, Burma"] Maplandia.com

{{Mandalay Division}}

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Category:Populated places in Pyin Oo Lwin District

Category: Hill stations in Myanmar

Category: Township capitals of Myanmar

Category: Shan Hills