Pinlaung is a town above sea level and seat of Pinlaung Township, in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

of eastern-central

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. It lies along National Road 54, north-west by road from Loikaw. Running through the city center is a rail line connecting Loikaw to Kalaw, two major tourist towns in the area.

Demographics

Pinlaung is primarily home to Pa'O and Shan ethnic groups.

Tourism

Tourists who visit the town of Pinlaung may visit Mway Daw Pagoda, the Nam Hoo Kyaung Tike Temple, and an authentic traditional craft market. Twenty minutes from the city center is another popular destination with tourists, Loi Maung Taung Pagoda. This stupa sits at the highest peak in the region, Loi Maung Taung. Another, lesser-known, mountain outside of the city center is Wingabar Mountain. This historic mountain is located from Pinlaung in the village of Taung Hti Bwar and features a full-length cave, called Yar Za Cave or Hti Bwar Cave.

Economics

Traditionally, farmers from the Pinlaung area grew subsistence crops such as cheroot leaves, maize and beans. When the opium trade took off in the 1900s, poppy became a major cash crop in the area. However, in recent years, there have been efforts to focus on other saleable crops such as coffee and tea. Now, Pinlaung is the premier tea-growing town in Myanmar, with the

Assam tea Assam tea is a black tea named after Assam, India, the region of its production. It is manufactured specifically from the plant ''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'' (Masters). Assam's people tried to plant the Chinese varieties in Assam soil bu ...

being the most predominant cultivar grown. Furthermore,

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. Cauliflower usually grows with one main stem that carries a large, rou ...

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

grow in abundance due to the favourable climate conditions. Before 2010, accessing Pinlaung was a difficult task. Merchants from

Naypyidaw Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, 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 ...

, southern, and western Myanmar who wanted trade with the highland farmers and ethnic tribes in Pinlaung were required to traverse the dangerous winding roads of Elephant Mountain (Sin Taung) and cross the Paung Laung River by boat. Then, Myanmar's former government contracted P.T.Waagner-Biro Indonesia together with Supreme Group of Companies to construct an expansive steel truss suspension bridge to span the river. The bridge, known as the Leinli Bridge, would become the highest of its kind in Myanmar. The bridge was opened on 5 November 2010, at a cost of 3.476 million in foreign currency and an additional 14,500 million kyats.

Climate

Pinlaung has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(Cwb).

References

External links

Maplandia World Gazetteer
{{Shan State Populated places in Shan State Township capitals of Myanmar