48,659 (September 2,018) 49,588 (September 2,019)
49,938 (September 2,020)Yenangyaung (Burmese : ရေနံချောင်း; literally "stream of oil") is a city in the Magway Region of central Myanmar, located on the Irrawaddy River and 363 miles from Yangon. Until 1974, it remained the capital city of both Minbu Division (now Magway Division) and Yenangyaung District. The population of Yenanchaung was 45,120 according to the 2014 census, but it reached 49,938 in September 2020. This makes it the fourth-largest city in the Magway Region, after Pakokku, Magway and Aunglan. General Aung San received his secondary education in this city.
Yenangyaung is home to Yenangyaung University and Yenangyaung Government Technical Institute, as well as No.(1) Basic Education High School, which turned 100 years old in January 2015.
Yenangyaung is located along the Irrawaddy River, and is divided into 14 main quarters, namely: [ citation needed ]
Sub-quarters include Shwe-bone Thar, Ngwe-bone Thar, Yenanthar, Ayesayti, and Aungchan Thar.
Myoma Market and Yadanar Market are located in the center of the city, while the Industry Zone is located in the city's north.
The principal product of Yenangyuang is petroleum. The area produces most of the oil and natural gas in Myanmar. [ citation needed ] Yenangyaung also produces cooking oil. Agriculture is another essential component of the economy, with the major crops being sesame, groundnut, onion, sunflower, and beans.
For centuries, petroleum has been the dominant industry in the area. It began as an indigenous industry, with hand-dug wells. From 1755 onward, British soldier-diplomats noted its existence. [1] In 1795, Major Michael Symes described the indigenous industry as 'the celebrated wells of Petroleum'. [2] The following year, when Captain Hiram Cox, the East India Company Resident in Rangoon, visited Yenangyaung, he found '520 wells registered by government'. [3]
The oil fields at Twingon and Beme, close to Yenangyaung, were in the hands of a hereditary corporation of 24 families, each headed by a twinzayo (တွင်းစားရိုး). In turn, these yo-ya families were headed by 8 men and 6 women twinzayos. Inheritance descended from male to male and from female to female. [4] The word twinzayo is derived from twin ('well'), za ('eater' or one who derives income from property) and yo (which represents the hereditary lineal bloodline). [5]
The twinzayo could arrange for wells to be dug on their behalf, or allocate well sites to others. In pre-colonial times, these individual well owners, known as twinza, were usually relatives of the twinzayo and paid a monthly rental for their site. [6] The twingyimin, the elected head of the twinzayo corporation, controlled the fields, and though a twinzayo could choose the site of a well, digging could not commence until site was approval by the twingyimin. [7] During British colonial rule, the hereditary rights of the twinzayo were recognized in the Executive Instructions of 1893. [8]
The industry's origins remain uncertain, with some claiming that it began as early as 10th century AD. [8] However, the earliest extant records date to 1755, attributed to an English captain, George Baker, who wrote of an 'earth oil town' of 200 families by the Irrawaddy River. [8] In pre-colonial times, wells were dug by hand. Some records estimated that upwards of 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 L) per day of oil were produced in 1797. [8]
During World War II, Yenangyaung was the location of a strategically important oil refinery. As a result of the speed and success of the Japanese' advance through Burma during the Burma Campaign and the Battle of Yenangyaung, the retreating Allied forces were forced to blow up the oil fields and the refinery to prevent them from falling to the Japanese. This difficult task was undertaken by a small group of men who had experience with explosives and demolitions, some previously serving with the Bombay Pioneers (part of the British Indian Army) in World War I. The oil facilities were destroyed on 16 April 1942. [9] [10]
This group included Lt. Col. Arthur Herbert Virgin OBE, formerly of the 2nd Bombay Pioneers, who at that time would have been a Captain or Major in the 20th Burma Rifles, which later formed part of the Fourteenth Army under Field Marshal Sir William Slim. He and the rest of the men had to escape through the enemy-held territory to Imphal and Kohima in India, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles. This included swimming across the Irrawaddy River, as the only bridge had been blown up to delay the Japanese.
The Japanese were able to continue using the oilfields, but in the last year of the war as the Allies advanced eastward toward Burma, the oil fields were badly damaged by Allied bombers. The first to strike were USAAF North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, followed moments later by British Hawker Hurricane fighters, with long-range tanks, bombs, and 20 mm cannon. [11]
Yenangyaung was the capital city of the Minbu Division. Minbu Region was established with 3 districts: Minbu District, Thayet District, and Yenangyaung District.
On March 2, 1962, the military-led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government had been under direct or indirect control by the military for some time. A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974.
By 1974, the name of the Minbu region was changed to Magway Region, and Yenangyaung District was abolished. Magway District was established with 6 townships. The capital city was changed to Magway from Yenangyaung.
After Rangoon, Yenangyaung was the second largest and developing city of Lower Burma until 1980. The city was more prominent than Upper Burma's largest city, Mandalay. Nowadays, the city is less developed and considered a small city in Myanmar, Magway District.
Magway Region is an administrative division in central Myanmar. It is the second largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, with an area of 44,820 km2. Pa Del Dam (ပဒဲဆည်) is one of the dams in Aunglan Township, Magway Division. The capital and second largest city of the Magway Division is Magway. The largest city is Pakokku. The major cities of Magway Division are Magway, Pakokku, Aunglan, Yenangyaung, Taungdwingyi, Chauk, Minbu, Thayet and Gangaw.
Magway is the capital city of Magway Region of Myanmar, and situated on the banks of the Irrawaddy River. The Myathalun Pagoda, the beauty of Magway, located at the north of the city, is the landmark of Magway. Magway Region is famous for the cultivation of sesame and many kinds of nuts. It is also the second largest city of Magway Region and it is home to Magway Airport.
The Irrawaddy River is the largest river in Myanmar. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows from north to south before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta in the Ayeyarwady Region into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about 404,000 square kilometres (156,000 sq mi) covers 61% of the land area of Burma, and contains five of its largest cities.
Pakokku is the largest city in the Magway Region of Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km northeast of Bagan on the Irrawaddy River. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township, Pakokku District and Gangaw District. Pakokku Bridge is part of the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway and is the longest bridge in Myanmar. It is home of the Pakokku Airport.
Thayet is a capital city in Thayet District of Magway Region in central Myanmar. It is a port on the right (western) bank of the Irrawaddy River, across and just south of Allanmyo, between Pyay (Prome) and Magway. Thayet is the administrative seat of both Thayet District and Thayet Township. As of 2014, the population was 20,251 in the city proper.
Martyrs' Day is a Burmese national holiday observed on 19 July to commemorate Gen. Aung San and seven other leaders of the pre-independence interim government, and one bodyguard —Thakin Mya, Ba Cho, Abdul Razak, Ba Win, Mahn Ba Khaing, Sao San Tun, Ohn Maung and Ko Htwe—all of whom were assassinated on that day in 1947. It is customary for high-ranking government officials to visit the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon in the morning of that day to pay respects.
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) was a passenger and cargo ferry company, which operated services on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, now Myanmar. The IFC was Scottish-owned, and was managed by P Henderson & Company from Glasgow. The IFC operated from 1865 until the late 1940s. At its peak in the late 1920s, the IFC fleet was the largest fleet of river boats in the world, consisting of over 600 vessels carrying some 8-9 million passengers and 1¼ million tons of cargo a year.
The Battle of Yenangyaung was fought in Burma from 16 to 19 April 1942. As part of the Burma Campaign of World War II, the battle was fought between Chinese and British allied forces on one side and Japanese forces on the other. The battle took place in the vicinity of Yenangyaung and its oil fields.
Chauk is a town and river port in Magway Region, north-central Myanmar (Burma), on the Irrawaddy River. It is located across the river from Seikphyu (ဆိပ်ဖြူ) and is connected by a bridge.
Mya Than Tint was a five-time Myanmar National Literature Award winning Burmese writer and translator.
Taungdwingyi is a town located in Magway Region, Myanmar.
Magway District is a district of the Magway Region in central Myanmar.
Minbu Township is a township of Minbu District in the Magway Region of Myanmar. The principal town is Minbu.
The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign, the Japanese Army drove British Empire and Chinese forces out of Burma, then began the Japanese occupation of Burma and formed a nominally independent Burmese administrative government.
Salin is a town of Minbu District in Magway Region, Myanmar. Salin is on the western bank of the Irrawaddy River and is 50 miles (80 km) from the capital of Magway. The town, founded in 1119, is known for its collection of Buddhist monasteries and pagodas, a legacy of its prominent residents, who donated these public buildings. At the 2014 census, the urban population of Salin was 12,500.
Michael Moe Myint is a Burmese business tycoon, who founded and runs 2 major companies in the country's petroleum industry, Myint & Associates, a service provider and MPRL E&P, a gas extraction company.
Yuzana Company Limited is a Burmese company involved in the construction, agriculture, hospitality, real estate and fishery industries.
Myanmar, is a developing country and an important natural gas and petroleum producer in Asia. It is home to one of the world's oldest petroleum industries, with its first crude oil exports dating back to 1853. Today, the country is one of the major natural gas producers in the Asian continent. Decades of isolation, sanctions, a lack of technical capacity, opaque government policies and insufficient investment has impeded the country's efforts to develop an upstream hydrocarbon sector. Recent but slow political reform has led the international community to ease sanctions on Burma, giving rise to hopes of greater investment and economic growth. In 2015-2016, the petroleum industry attracted the highest-ever amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the history of Myanmar.
Miss Universe Myanmar 2020 was the 8th Miss Universe Myanmar pageant held on 30 December 2020 at Novotel Max Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar. Swe Zin Htet, Miss Universe Myanmar 2019 of Hpa-An crowned Thuzar Wint Lwin of Hakha her successor at the end of the event. The winner represented Myanmar at Miss Universe 2020 in Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States where she placed in the top 21 and won the Best National Costume award.
Alinkar Kyawswa is the highest national honor of recognition of an individual for their artistic skills by the government of Myanmar. From 1949 to 2022, there were about 57 recipients of this award in Myanmar.