Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Myitkyina and around
Capital of Kachin State,
MYITKYINA
is a fascinating place. The town was largely des-
troyed in the three-month
Battle for Myitkyina
during World War II and few old buildings
survive, but what it lacks in history it makes up for with variety. It's a major centre for the
six hill tribes that comprise the
Kachin
, as well as substantial communities from the Indian
subcontinent - churches decorated with geometric Kachin patterns stand alongside mosques
and Sikh gurdwara - with everyone speaking Burmese as the lingua franca.
While travel restrictions limit day-trips outside the town, one straightforward excursion is
to head north along the Ayeyarwady to the site of the
Myitsone Dam
and the confluence of
the Mali Kha and N'Mai Kha rivers that is considered the
source of the Ayeyarwady
.
Thanks to its proximity to the
jade mines
of Hpakant, Myitkyina is a major jade trading
centre. Along with a steady stream of Chinese buyers and ready money, the semi-precious
stone has bought a slew of problems, ranging from inflated prices for everyday goods to an
alarmingincreaseindrugabuse-thetownfeelsnoticeablylesssafeafterdarkthanelsewhere
in Myanmar. A lesser problem is that Myitkyina's English road signs are rather inconsistent
and a single road name may have several different spellings.
Brief history
Myitkyina was a small Kachin trading post when the British arrived here in the 1890s and
established amilitary base. Roman Catholic andBaptist missionaries followed, oneofwhom
wastheSwedish-American
OlaHanson
(1864-1927),whotranslatedtheBibleintoKachin.
Originally animists, today most Kachin identify as
Christians
.
During World War II the Kachin levies who fought alongside the Allies in this region were
legendary for their jungle survival skills and fighting spirit. For much of the period since in-
dependence,thatsamefightingspirithasbeendirectedattheMyanmargovernment,withthe
Kachininsurgencyledbythe
KachinIndependenceArmy
(KIA)beingoneofthecountry's
fiercest and longest running. Although a ceasefire has nominally been in place since 1994,
fighting periodically flares, and the ceasefire collapsed entirely in 2011. Today Myitkyina it-
self is peaceful, but you will see the KIA flag (crossed
machetes
on a red and green back-
ground) decorating T-shirts and motorbikes around town.
Kachin State Cultural Museum
1km north of the market, on the corner of Thakin Net Phay Rd and Yone Gyi Rd • Mon-Sat 9.30am-4pm;
closed on national holidays • K2000
The small
Kachin State Cultural Museum
is worth a visit to see its display of Kachin and
Shan costumes and the Latin scripts that European missionaries adapted to express the com-
plexities of Kachin pronunciation in the 1890s. The most interesting exhibits are upstairs,
however,whereacollectionofManauheaddressesshapedlikehornbillsandawideselection
of everyday items made out of bamboo and rattan are held.
