Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Yangon, [a] formerly romanized as Rangoon, [4] [5] is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of Naypyidaw in north central Myanmar. [ 6 ]
The city hall has been the focal point of several major political demonstrations, including a 1964 People's Peace Committee rally supported by Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, which attracted 200,000 people and was subsequently clamped down by Ne Win's military junta. [3] and the site of several bombings, including one in 2000, 2008, and 2009. [4] [5]
Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates urban planning. The city is divided into four districts. Yangon Region is divided into four districts, which overlap with the city's jurisdiction. [1] The current mayor of Yangon is U Bo Htay , [2] [3] an economist and a retired professor at the Yangon ...
[4] A former Burmese tourism minister estimated that 12% of the government revenues are derived from tourism, with the tourism industry contributing US$182 million (2007) to the government's annual budget. [5] In March 2020, Myanmar has closed its borders to international tourists as a measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the 1930s, the Indians made up half of Yangon city, and only one-third was Burmese. Between World War I and World War II , Yangon was the center of the Burmese nationalist movement. Many future Burmese political figures such as Aung San , U Nu , U Thant and Ne Win were all one-time Rangoon University students. [ 8 ]
The east-west grid of downtown Yangon was laid out by British military engineers Alexander Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852. [1] The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The majority of sites on the Yangon City Heritage List are located in Yangon's CBD.
The four-lane, 323.2 km (200.8 mi) Yangon-Naypyidaw highway links Naypyidaw with Yangon directly and is part of the 563 km (350 mi) long Yangon-Naypyidaw-Mandalay Expressway. There is a 20-lane boulevard; like most roads in the city, it is largely empty.
Construction began in 1895 and was completed 19 November 1899 under a land grant from the Government of India, whilst Lower Burma was a province of British India.During the 1930 Rangoon earthquake, St. Mary's Cathedral suffered little damage and it withstood the Japanese invasion during World War II.