Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BURMA ROAD
InNovember1937,whentheJapaneseImperialArmytookcontrolofShanghaiafterasav-
age three-month battle, China lost Nanjing, its largest port and the last obstacle between
Japanese forces and the Chinese capital. The government scrambled to relocate to a pro-
visional capital in Chongqing, deep in the interior as the ports along China's eastern sea-
board toppled to the Japanese. Alternative supply routes were urgently needed, and work
onthe
BurmaRoad
,linkingtheChinesecityofKunmingtotheBurmeserailheadatLash-
io, began.
A rough, cobbled track that crossed countless sodden, jungle-covered hills as well as the
Mekong and Salween rivers, the Burma Road was built by an estimated 200,000 Burmese
and Chinese labourers and 1150km long at its completion in 1939. This vital supply route
functioned for just three years before the Japanese overran Burma in April 1942, occupy-
ing Lashio and closing the road. After months of airlifting supplies from Assam to Kun-
ming - over the infamous “Hump” at the eastern end of the Himalayas - the Allies began
construction on an arduous alternative route, the
Ledo Road
between Ledo in Assam and
Kunming, which finished construction early in 1945, just months before the Japanese sur-
render.
The markets and around
The closest thing to a town centre in Lashio is the area around the covered market between
Lanmadaw Street and Samkaung Street. A morning
vegetable market
spreads out along
Bogyoke Road before dawn (sadly no longer lit picturesquely by candles - the traders prefer
fluorescent lamps these days) before the action moves into the
mainmarket
around 7am. To
end the day, a lively
nightmarket
sets up each evening along Bogyoke and Thiri roads. Just
south of all the market action is Lashio's pretty
central mosque
, which was rebuilt after its
predecessor was torched during anti-Muslim riots in May 2013.
Thathana Pagoda
Thathana Pagoda Hill, off the Mandalay-Muse road, 2km north of the market
A gilded octagonal pagoda,
Thathana Pagoda
sits on a ridge north of town surrounded by
wooded slopes offering excellent views over Lashio to the rounded hills beyond. The most
interesting way to reach it is along a steep staircase that leads from the Muse road uphill to
an unusual monument on stilts, before turning north to the pagoda.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: LASHIO
Byplane
Some 8km from the central market area, Lashio Airport is served by Asian Wings,
Air KBZ, Myanma Airways and Yangon Airways. Most services to Yangon are ”hopper”
flights, stopping in Mandalay or Heho (or both). Tickets cost around $90 to Mandalay and
