Monywa

Monywa sits on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River, about 136 kilometers northwest of Mandalay, in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region. It ranks among the country’s most economically significant cities and is nicknamed “Neem City” because neem trees line many of its streets.

The city and its surroundings in the “Dry Valley” are the only part of Southeast Asia with a hot semi-arid climate. This aridity results from the rain shadow of the Arakan Mountains. Temperatures stay very high year-round, though winter months (December to February) are milder, averaging around 21°C in January. The early monsoon period, April to July, is especially hot, with April’s average high reaching 38.4°C. On 19 October 2011, Monywa recorded 139 millimeters of rain in 24 hours—a new October daily record for the city in 47 years, surpassing the previous record of 135 millimeters set on 24 October 1967.

All Sagaing Region government offices, including the regional parliament, are located in Monywa, and it is generally recognized as the region’s capital. However, some groups—such as the civil society organization “Steering Committee for the Return of All Regional Offices to Sagaing City in Accordance with the Constitution”—object, arguing that this arrangement violates the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar.

Monywa is a national hub for poets and is often called the center of poetry in Upper Myanmar. Many contemporary poets have lived here, including Min Swe Hnit, K Za Win, Kyi Zaw Aye, and Khat Thi.

The city is served by the Mandalay-Budalin branch railway line, but bus travel is the best option since the road from Mandalay is in reasonably good condition. Roads connect Monywa to Budalin, Dabayin, Ye-U, and Kin-U, and a rail link runs to Sagaing and the Mandalay-Myitkyina line. River transport on the Chindwin has always been important: during the monsoon, the river is navigable for 640 kilometers to Hkamti, and most of the year to Homalin. Monywa Airport also serves the area.

Monywa is a major center for trade and commerce, handling agricultural produce from the surrounding Chindwin valley—especially beans, oranges, pulses, and jaggery (palm sugar). Local industry includes mills for cotton, flour, noodles, and edible oil. Popular sausages from Alon, called wet udaunk, are well known, and Budalin longyi (sarong) is prized for its strong fabric and checked patterns. Monywa’s rough cotton blankets are famous across Myanmar (the city has supplied 80% of the country’s blankets for a century), and some are sewn into knapsacks sold to unsuspecting tourists in Bangkok. Other regional crafts include bamboo and reed products, bullock carts, and agricultural implements. The village of Kyaukka is known for its lacquerware utensils for everyday use. Black market goods from India, especially saris and bicycle parts, pass through Monywa on their way to other parts of Myanmar.

The main tourist attraction is Thambuddhe Pagoda, a Buddhist temple with a large stupa resembling Indonesia’s Borobudur. It dates from 1303, though it was reconstructed in 1939, and is said to contain over 500,000 Buddha images. Nearby is the Maha Bodhi Tahtaung Laykyun Sekkya standing Buddha statue, the third tallest in the world at 115.82 meters (129.23 meters including the pedestal). This statue is the centerpiece of a sprawling site filled with Buddha statues, bodhi trees, and pagodas, established by the Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung Sayadaw in the 1960s. The site also includes a 95-meter-long reclining Buddha statue. Another attraction is the Phowintaung cave complex across the Chindwin River, about 25 kilometers west of Monywa. The Nyaung-gan Bronze Age cemetery in Budalin, dated between 1,500 BCE and 500 BCE, with bronze tools, ceramics, and stone artifacts, is about an hour’s drive north on a narrow road. Very few tourists visit Monywa because its facilities are limited.

The city hosts several higher education institutions: Monywa University, Monywa Education College, Monywa University of Economics, Technological University, Monywa, and Computer University, Monywa. It has two public hospitals: Monywa General Hospital and Monywa Women and Children Hospital.

For many years, the insurgent Burmese Communist Party was centered in the Monywa area, west of the Chindwin River. The Myanmar military presence in Monywa remains heavy.

Notable residents include Thant Sin Maung, Tun Kyi, Kyaw Hsan, and U Lu Tin.