Introduction
The capital, largest city, and economic center of Myanmar is Yangon. The city lies on the Yangon River in the southern part of the country, about 21 miles (34 kilometers) north of the Gulf of Martaban. It was known outside Myanmar as Rangoon until 1989, when the country's government changed its name to Yangon.
Places of interest
Yangon is known for its Buddhist culture. The most famous site in the city is the Shwedagon Pagoda. Said to date back more than 2,500 years, this great Buddhist temple complex sits on a hill overlooking the city. The pagoda itself is covered with gold and stands about 326 feet (99 meters) above the hilltop. It is one of the largest Buddhist shrines in the world. The Sule and Botataung pagodas are also notable.
Yangon's other places of interest include the National Museum and numerous parks and green spaces. Among other exhibits, the museum features paintings by Myanmar artists, thrones of former kings, and musical instruments. North of the city center is Kandawgyi, or Royal Lake, which is surrounded by a wooded park. Yangon also has a zoo and botanical gardens.
The entire city becomes part of a water festival in April, just before the start of Myanmar's New Year. During the festival, people spray hoses and throw buckets of water at each other in the streets. This is done to “wash away” the old year's bad luck.
Economy
Yangon is Myanmar's most important political, industrial, and commercial center. Myanmar is a very poor country, however, and many of Yangon's people have trouble finding good jobs. Many residents of the city work in government agencies, hospitals, banks, schools, stores, restaurants, factories, and various kinds of business offices. Others work in open-air markets and workshops. Yangon's factories make foods, soap, cloth, and metal products. The city's ocean port handles most of Myanmar's trade with other countries.
History
Originally a small fishing village, Yangon was made the capital of Myanmar in 1755 by King Alaungpaya. He named it Yangon, meaning “end of strife,” because he had just won battles that united his kingdom. Yangon's giant Buddhist temple, Shwedagon, helped attract people to the city.
By the early 1800s many ships were built in Yangon, and the British traded goods there. The city was taken by the British in 1824 but returned to local control in 1826. In 1852 the British captured Yangon again and named it Rangoon. By the 1880s the British controlled all of Myanmar (which at the time was called Burma). Under British rule, ocean trade was very important. Rangoon grew quickly as a result.
By the 1930s about half of the city's population was Indian because many people from India moved there to find work. A massive earthquake and tidal wave damaged Rangoon in 1930. In 1942, after heavy fighting between the Allies and Japanese troops during World War II, the Japanese took over the city. Rangoon was then bombed heavily by the Allies. The city was later rebuilt, but its economy recovered slowly. The British left in 1948, and Rangoon became the capital of the independent country of Burma. In 1989 the military government changed the country's name to Myanmar and city's name back to Yangon.
Since the mid-20th century the government has often abused human rights in Myanmar. As a result, many people in Yangon have been hurt or killed because of their political beliefs. The government allowed more private businesses to open in the 1990s. Since then new hotels and high-rise buildings have been built in Yangon. Population (1995 estimate), metropolitan area, 3,873,000.
