Taungoo (, ''Tauñngu myoú''; ; also spelled Toungoo) is a district-level city in the

Bago Region Bago Region ( my, ပဲခူးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Pegu Division and Bago Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region a ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, 220 km from

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industry is in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

products, with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

and other

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

s extracted from the mountains. The city is known for its

areca ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name u ...

palms, to the extent that a Burmese proverb for unexpected good fortune is equated to a "

betel The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel p ...

lover winning a trip to Taungoo". The city is famous in

Burmese history The history of Myanmar (also known as Burma; my, မြန်မာ့သမိုင်း) covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history wer ...

for the

Toungoo dynasty , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , era = , status = Empire , event_start = Independence from Ava , year_start ...

which ruled the country for over 200 years between the 16th and 18th centuries. Taungoo was the capital of Burma in 1510–1539 and 1551–1552. Kaytumadi new city (new city of Taungoo) is the central command of the southern command division region of Armed Forces (''Tatmadaw''). Hanthawaddy United Football Club is based in Taungoo.

Names

The classical

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

name of Taungoo is Ketumadi (ကေတုမဒီ;), which translates to "possessed of the royal standard."

History

Taungoo was founded in 1279 in the waning days of

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

as part of frontier expansion southwards. After the fall of Pagan Empire in 1287, Taungoo came under the rule of

Myinsaing Kingdom , conventional_long_name = Myinsaing Kingdom , common_name = Myinsaing Kingdom , era = Warring states , status = Regency , event_pre = , date_pre = 1277–87 , event_start = , year_start ...

and later Pinya Kingdom. In 1358, Taungoo successfully revolted and became independent until 1367 when it became a nominal part of the

Ava Kingdom The Kingdom of Ava ( my, အင်းဝခေတ်, ) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagai ...

. Its rulers retained a large degree of autonomy, playing larger Ava and Hanthawaddy kingdoms against each other. In 1470, Ava put down another rebellion and made

Sithu Kyawhtin Sithu Kyawhtin ( my, စည်သူကျော်ထင်, ; also known as Narapati Sithu (နရပတိ စည်သူ, )) was the last king of Ava from 1551 to 1555. He came to power by overthrowing King Narapati III in 1551, the culmi ...

, the general who defeated the rebellion, governor. Sithu Kyawhtin's grandson Mingyi Nyo became governor of Taungoo in 1485. Under Mingyi Nyo's leadership, the principality grew powerful. In October 1510, Mingyi Nyo formally broke away from Ava and founded the Taungoo Kingdom. Mingyi Nyo's successors

Tabinshwehti Tabinshwehti ( my, တပင်‌ရွှေထီး, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest ki ...

and

Bayinnaung , image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG , caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar , reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581 , coronation = 11 January 1551 at Tou ...

went on to found the largest empire in the history of south-east Asia. Taungoo's stint as capital was short-lived, however. Tabinshwehti moved the kingdom's capital to

Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...

(Bago) in 1539. The city briefly again became capital of a rebellion in 1599 when

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Minye Thihathu II of Taungoo declared himself king. In December 1599, Taungoo's forces in collaboration with the Arakanese armies aided by Portuguese mercenaries, sacked

. The rebellious city state remained independent for another 10 years when

Natshinnaung Natshinnaung ( my, နတ်သျှင်နောင်, ; 1579–1613) was a Toungoo prince who was a noted poet and an accomplished musician, as well as an able military commander. He later became a rebellious ruler of Toungoo, and went o ...

ascended the Taungoo throne in 1609. In the following year, King

Anaukpetlun Anaukbaklun ( my, အနောက်ဘက်လွန် ; 21 January 1578 – 9 July 1628) was the sixth king of Taungoo Burma and was largely responsible for restoring the kingdom after it collapsed at the end of 16th century. In his 22–yea ...

captured Taungoo and ended the city's long line of rulers. Although few visible historic remains survive, all four sides of the brick city wall remain from the dynastic period, with the exception of the part of the southern wall. The 9.6 m wide

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

has largely dried up, except for a section on the eastern side, which is still maintained. By the mid-19th century, Taungoo was governed by a local governor appointed by the Konbaung kings. The Taungoo District consisted of 52 wards, including today's

Pyinmana Pyinmana (, ; population: 100,000 (2006 estimate)) is a logging town and sugarcane refinery center in the Naypyidaw Union Territory of Myanmar. The administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a militarized greenfield site (which the ...

(and

Naypyidaw Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw (; ), is the capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's cities, as it is an entirely planned city o ...

) regions. The district was cut in half after the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( my, ဒုတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese Empire and British Em ...

. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

annexed the southern half, including the city of Taungoo while the northern portion, including Pyinmana and Ela, remained under Burmese control. British troops were withdrawn in 1893. In 1940, the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

built an airfield north of the town, which from August 1941 through February 1942 served as a training and support base for the 1st

American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, po ...

, popularly known as the

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States ...

. In the

Battle of the Yunnan-Burma Road A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1942, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

attacked the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma in what is known as the Battle of Toungoo. Taungoo celebrated its 500th birthday on 16 October 2010, by reconstructing and renovating many city attractions.

Geography

Three mountain ranges traverse the district—the

Pegu Yomas The Pegu Range ( my, ပဲခူးရိုးမ; Pegu Yoma or Bago Yoma) is a range of low mountains or hillsSeekins, Donald M. (2006) ''Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'' Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Marylandpage 357 and uplands between ...

, the Karen Hills, and the

Nat Ma Taung Nat Ma Taung ( my, နတ်မတောင်; Khaw-nu-soum or Khonuamthung in Chin), also known as Mount Victoria, is the highest mountain in the Chin State of western Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . No ...

or "Great Watershed"—all of which have a north and south direction, and are covered for the most part with dense forest. The Pegu Yomas have a general elevation of from , while the central range averages from . The rest of Taungoo forms the upper portion of the valley of the

Sittaung River The Sittaung River ( my, စစ်တောင်းမြစ် ; formerly, the Sittang or Sittounghttps://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/inf/8th_UNCSGN_econf.94_INF.75.pdf ) is a river in south central Myanmar in Bag ...

Climate

Taungoo has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Aw'') bordering on a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(Köppen climate classification ''Am''). Temperatures are hot throughout the year, and the months before the monsoon (March–May) are especially hot with average maximum temperatures exceeding . There is a winter dry season (November–March) and a summer wet season (April–October).

Administration

*Taungoo District (The district combined have a total of 6 townships. They are Taungoo, Phyu,

Yedashe Yedashe, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a town in Taungoo District, Bago Region in Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in ...

, Tantabin, Kyaukkyi, Oktwin) *Taungoo Township *Taungoo Ward – 23 Wards *Taungoo Municipal *District and Township Immigration Dept *Myanmar Timber Enterprise *Finance and Tax Dept *Civil Engineering Dept *District and Township Education Dept *Health Dept *District and Township Forestry Dept *MPPE *Taungoo Correctional Dept. Taungoo Prison *Taungoo Quarry Camp *Taungoo Post Office *Taungoo TeleCom station *Myanmar Television Sub-station *Myawady Television Sub-station *Union Solidarity and Development Association
Myanmar Maternal Children’s Welfare AssociationMyanmar Women Affair Federation
*Division 5 Railways Office *Taungoo Township and District Courts *"Maha Myittar" Education Foundation

Emergency

* No.1 Police Station Taungoo * No.2 Police Station Taungoo * No.3 Police Station Taungoo * Taungoo Apala Police Station * Taungoo District Police Force * Taungoo Township Police Force * Division 5 Railways Police Force, Taungoo * Taungoo Motor Vehicle Police Station * Taungoo Fire Station Command (1 Support Vehicle) * Taungoo Township Fire Station No.1 (3 Engines) * Taungoo Township Fire Station No.2 (2 Engines) * Myanmar Red Cross Society, Taungoo – Ambulance * Electrical Department * Taungoo Weather Station * Bureau of Special Investigation

Military and Internal Security

* Southern Command – Kaytumadi new city * Taungoo Air Force Base * No.47 Helicopters Squadron * Amoury Division – Oak Twin * Artillery Division – Oak Twin * Police Battalion, Taungoo – Training School * No.(3) Field Medical Battalion * Bureau of Special Investigation Training School * Taungoo Prison Department

Attractions

*Shwe San Taw Pagoda (Build by King Min Gyi Nyo) *Kaung Hmu Taw Pagoda *Mya See Gone Pagoda *Myat Saw Nyi Naung Pagoda *Kaylazarti Pagoda (Build by King Bayintnaung) *Statue of King Bayintnaung *Statue of King Min Gyi Nyo *Statue of Bogyoke Aung San *Kantawgyi Garden *Royal Kaytumadi Hotel (Design by Old Taungoo) *Taungoo Kyone *Taungoo Gyi old city *Taungoo Nge old city *Dwaryarwadi old city *Danyawadi old city *Phoe Kyar Elephant garden *Pathi Cheek *Sittaung River *Naw Bu Paw Mountain (Kayin State, over sea level 4,824 ft) *Than Daung Kyi Mountain city

Investigative bodies

*Military Intelligence No.3 (MI) *Special Intelligence (Special Branch) SB *Bureau of special investigations (BSI) *Special Police Force *Narcotic

Demographics

The population of Taungoo in the 2014 census was 108,569; in the 1983 census it was 65,851. The

Bamar The Bamar (, ; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of th ...

(Burmans) make up the majority with a significant Kayin (Karen) population on the eastern side of the city. The Chinese, Indians, Shan and Kayah people make up the rest. The majority of residents are

Theravada Buddhists ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

, and minority

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

and

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Taungoo is home to a number of Karen Christian association headquarters and churches. See

list of churches A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organization and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, ...

Transport

The main transport options to Taungoo is rail and motorways.

Rail

The Taungoo railway station is on the main north line of

Myanmar Railways Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...

, and the Taungoo Highway bus station is served by domestic bus lines. Intra-city transport is mainly through a circular railway line which serves around the

Taungoo District Taungoo District (Taungngu, Toungoo, my, တောင်ငူခရိုင်) is a district of the Bago Division in central Burma (Myanmar). The capital lies at Taungoo. History Taungoo District was created by the Pagan Dynasty in the 1280s, ...

and bus lines, which serve downtown, and suburban areas: Toungoo Railway Station Myanmar 001

*Gandawin Express Bus *Yoma Express Bus *Zay Yar Shwe Pyi Express Bus *Say Taman Express Bus *Sein Myittar Express Bus *Shwe Man Thu Express Bus *Taw Win Express Bus (Naypyitaw) *Tabin Shwehtee Express Bus *Mya Yadana Express Bus (Mandalay) *Shwe Lonn Pyan Express Bus (Taungyi) *Pyu Min Thar (Pyay)

Roads

There are two main road bridges: over the

and the Kaphaung River.

Air

Taungoo Airport is the area's only airport and is a military-only air base of

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force ( my, တပ်မတော် (လေ), ), known until 1989 as the Burmese Air Force, is the aerial branch of Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception h ...

. MAF's No.47 Helicopter Squadron is stationed at the airport.

Education

High schools

Taungoo has eleven

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s: see '' List of high schools in Taungoo''.

Public universities and colleges

* Taungoo University * Taungoo Educational College * University of Computer Studies * Technological University * Government Technical Institute

Nursing and midwifery schools

* Taungoo Nursing Training School * Taungoo Midwifery Training School

Divinity schools

Paku Divinity School The Paku Divinity School is a Baptist theological institute in Taungoo, Bago Division, Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Paku Karen Baptist Association. The campus can be accessed from Myo Gyi and Boundary roads. The theology program is approv ...

* St. Peter's Bible School (Anglican)

Healthcare

* Taungoo General Hospital * Taungoo Railways Hospital * Taungoo Traditional Hospital * Defence Services General Hospital * Thaw Thee Kho Hospital * Kaytu Hospital * Royal Hospital * Myat Thitsar Hospital

Major sites

* Thargaya Elephant Camp * Kandawggyi Garden * Kaytumaddy Garden * Kaphaung Creek Bridge * Sittaung Bridge * Electronic Library * Taungoo Gym * Taungoo Stadium * Kha Baung Hall * Taungoo Municipal Market * Taungoo Market * Bayinnaung Market * Kayinmazay Market * New 3D Cinema * Statue of Min Gyi Nyo * Statue of Ba Yint Naung * Statue of Bogoke Aung San * Icon Shopping Center - Taungoo * Mingalar Cinemas Icon - Taungoo Bayintnaung image

Pagodas

* Shwesandaw Pagoda * Myasigon Pagoda * Kaung Mhu Daw Pagoda * Myat-Saw Nyi Naung Pagoda * Ma Har Mu Ni Kay La Zar Ti Pagoda * Nann Taw Oo Pagoda * See Gone Gyi Pagoda (Old Taungoo) * Mya Lane Da Pagoda (Old Taungoo)

Notable residents

* Dr. Saw Durmay (Po Min) (), president of Loyal Karen Association of Burma-India, owner of

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...

and descendant of Karen chief priest *Ringo aka Maung Maung Lwin, singer, composer, and guitarist *Kyar Pauk aka Han Htue Lwin, singer, composer, music producer, vocalist of Big Bag band and guitarist *Naw Li Zar, singer and composer *Saw Say Wah, chairman of Eastern Bago Division Anti-Drug Association and retired chief of police (deputy-director) *

Soe Pyae Thazin Soe Pyae Thazin ( my, စိုးပြည့်သဇင်; born 22 September 1992) is a Myanmar Academy Award winning Burmese actress and singer. She won her first special Myanmar Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress with the film '' M ...

, actress

Media

*MTV or MTV1 – broadcasts in Burmese language. *MTV2 – broadcast in Burmese language and some local languages *MTV4 – 24-hour sport channel. (pay TV) *MTV3 – broadcasts in Thai, Khmer, Vietnamese and English. (pay TV) *MRTV – broadcasts in Burmese, Arakanese, Shan, Karen, Kachin, Kayah, Chin, Mon and English *MWD 1,

*MRTV

*''The Mirror'' (Burmese: ကြေးမုံ)(Burmese: ေၾကးမံု-''Kyehmonn'') – state-run daily (newspaper) *''The Voice'' (newspaper) *''Eleven'' (newspaper) *''7Days'' (newspaper) *''The New Light of Myanmar'' (Burmese: ''Myanma A-lin'') – English and Burmese language (newspaper) *''The Myanmar Times'' (Burmese: ''Myanma Taing'') – private-run English-language weekly (newspaper) *

Myanmar Radio National Service Myanmar Radio National Service ( my, မြန်မာ့အသံ; formerly, Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS)), is the national radio service of Myanmar. It has its broadcasting headquarters in both the administrative capital of Naypyidaw and ...

(Radio) *VOA (Radio) *BBC (Radio) *Myanmar Teleport (ISP) *Information Technology Central Services (ITCS)-(ISP) *Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT)- (ISP) *Mandalay FM *Shwe FM *Channel 7 – Digital broadcasting free-to-air channel *MRTV 4 – Digital and analogue free-to-air channel

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Bago Region Populated places established in 1510 Township capitals of Myanmar 1510 establishments in Asia