1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Myingyan

MYINGYAN, a district in the Meiktila division of Upper Burma. It lies in the valley of the Irrawaddy, to the south of Mandalay, on the east bank of the river. Area, 3137 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 356,052, showing an increase of 1% in the decade and a density of 114 inhabitants to the square mile. The greater part of the district is flat, especially to the north and along the banks of the Irrawaddy. Inland the country rises in gently undulating slopes. The most noticeable feature is Popa hill, an extinct volcano, in the south-eastern corner of the district. The highest peak is 4962 ft. above sea-level. The climate is dry and healthy, with high south winds from March till September. The annual rainfall averages about 35 in. The temperature varies between 106° and 70° F. The ordinary crops are millet, sesamum, cotton, maize, rice, gram, and a great variety of peas and beans. The district as a whole is not well watered, and most of the old irrigation tanks had fallen into disrepair before the annexation. There are no forests, but a great deal of low scrub. The lacquer ware of Nyaung-u and other villages near Pagan is noted throughout Burma. A considerable number of Chinese inhabit Myingyan and the larger villages. The headquarters town, Myingyan, stands on the Irrawaddy, and had a population in 1901 of 16,139. It is the terminus of the branch railway through Meiktila to the main line from Mandalay to Rangoon. The steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company also call here. A cotton-pressing machine was erected here in the time of independent Burma, and still exists.