Myitkyina
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Myitkyina မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့ |
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 Myitkyina
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| Coordinates: 25°23′0″N 97°24′0″E / 25.38333°N 97.40000°E | |
| Country |
 Burma
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| Division | Kachin State |
| District | Myitkyina District |
| Township | Myitkyina Township |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 306,949 |
| • Ethnicities | |
| • Religions | |
| Time zone | MST (UTC+6.30) |
| Area code(s) | 74 |
| Climate | Cwa |
Myitkyina (Burmese: မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့; MLCTS: mrac kri: na: mrui., pronounced: [mjɪʔtɕíná]; Jinghpaw: Myitkyina, [mjìtkjí̠ná]) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located 1,480 kilometers (920 mi) from Yangon, and 785 kilometers (488 mi) from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Myit-son (Burmese for confluence) of its two headstreams (the Mali and N'mai rivers). It is the northernmost river port and railway terminus in Myanmar. The city is served by Myitkyina Airport.
Myitkyina has been an important trading town between China and Burma since ancient times.
American Baptist missionary George J. Geis and his wife arrived in Myitkyina in the late 1890s and in 1900 requested permission to build a misison there.
Japanese forces captured the town and nearby airbase during World War II in 1942. In August 1944, Myitkyina was recaptured by the Allied forces under General Joseph Stilwell after a prolonged siege and heavy fighting between Nationalist Chinese divisions, the Chindits, and Merrill's Marauders of the Northern Combat Area Command and the besieged elements of the 33rd Imperial Japanese Army under General Masaki Honda. The town was strategically important not only because of its rail and water links to the rest of Burma, but also because it was on the planned route of the Ledo Road.
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Wikipedia