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Pyin Oo Lwin: The Flower City in the Highlands

At a higher elevation, where the air is cooler and the pace feels gentler, Pyin Oo Lwin has long stood apart from the plains below — a colonial hill station turned flower town, still shaped by both histories.

Places Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region
Satellite relief map of Myanmar, showing its borders with Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand

New to Myanmar?

The basics, before the stories

Myanmar sits at the meeting point of South and Southeast Asia — a single country holding an unusual amount of variety. A few facts to start from, before the stories fill in the rest.

Location
Southeast Asia, bordered by Bangladesh and India to the west, China to the north and east, and Laos and Thailand to the east, with coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
Capital
Naypyidaw. Yangon, the former capital, remains the largest city and the commercial centre.
Population
Around 54 million people.
Ethnic groups
135 officially recognised ethnic groups across 8 major national races — Bamar, Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Chin, Mon, Kachin and Kayah.
Languages
Burmese is the official language; well over 100 ethnic languages are spoken across the country.
Religion
Mostly Theravada Buddhist, alongside Christian, Muslim, Hindu and animist communities.

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