Bhamo

ဗန္ေမာ္ Bhamo (Burmese: ဗန်းမော်မြို့, also spelt Bamaw) is a city of Kachin State in the northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of the state of Kachin (Myitkyina). It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China.[1] The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in the hills around the town. It is the administrative center of Bhamo District and Bhamo Township.

Bhamo
ဗန်းမော်မြို့
Hsinkai[2]

Pagoda Ike Kaw Daw (အိုက်ခေါတော် စေတီ)
Bhamo

Location in Burma

Coordinates: 24°16′0″N 97°14′0″E / 24.26667°N 97.23333°E / 24.26667; 97.23333
Country  Burma
Division Kachin State
District Bhamo District
Township Bhamo Township
Population (2005)
 • Total 47,920[3]
 • Ethnicities Shan, Kachin, Chinese
 • Religions Theravada Buddhism
Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)
Climate Cwa

History

Bhamo was an important trading post with the Chinese Empire up to the nineteenth century, when copper coins from China flowed into Burma via Bhamo. VOC (United Dutch East India Company) records identified these copper coins as an important source of profit, and also mention the presence of a Customs Office in Bhamo to regulate the border trade.

From 1869 to 1879, it was the seat of British colonial Assistant political agent, subordinate to the Resident with the king of and in Ava. As of 1935, the town was situated at the highest navigable point of the river, and was the terminus of caravan routes from India and Burma, by which jade, in particular, was brought into China.

Bhamo was once called Sampanago, the capital of the now-extinct Shan predecessor kingdom of Wanmaw. The ruins of the old city walls, dating from the fifth Century, are found some 5 km from the modern town.

Contemporary

A once weekly Myanma Airways flight is available, as are three times a week river ferries. It is the terminus of river ferries from Mandalay. There is no river ferry between Bhamo and state capital Myitkyina. The land route between Bhamo and Mu Se District (Muse, part of Northern Shan State), is in poor condition.

Bhamo is one of the official border trading towns between China and Myanmar.

The town is home to Bhamo Degree College.

Climate

Bhamo has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months (December–February) are milder. There is a winter dry season (November–April) and a summer wet season (May–October).

Climate data for Bhamo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.2
(90)		 34.2
(93.6)		 39.9
(103.8)		 41.6
(106.9)		 41.9
(107.4)		 40.8
(105.4)		 40.3
(104.5)		 40.1
(104.2)		 39.7
(103.5)		 39.5
(103.1)		 36.2
(97.2)		 31.8
(89.2)		 41.9
(107.4)
Average high °C (°F) 25.0
(77)		 27.9
(82.2)		 31.5
(88.7)		 33.6
(92.5)		 34.1
(93.4)		 31.8
(89.2)		 30.9
(87.6)		 30.9
(87.6)		 30.8
(87.4)		 30.3
(86.5)		 27.0
(80.6)		 24.9
(76.8)		 29.89
(85.79)
Average low °C (°F) 9.0
(48.2)		 7.5
(45.5)		 11.3
(52.3)		 16.6
(61.9)		 20.1
(68.2)		 22.3
(72.1)		 22.3
(72.1)		 22.1
(71.8)		 21.4
(70.5)		 19.1
(66.4)		 15.7
(60.3)		 11.8
(53.2)		 16.6
(61.88)
Record low °C (°F) −0.4
(31.3)		 3.2
(37.8)		 4.8
(40.6)		 7.8
(46)		 10.9
(51.6)		 14.3
(57.7)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.5
(65.3)		 12.8
(55)		 10.1
(50.2)		 3.8
(38.8)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −0.4
(31.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6
(0.24)		 11
(0.43)		 14
(0.55)		 48
(1.89)		 161
(6.34)		 349
(13.74)		 392
(15.43)		 409
(16.1)		 210
(8.27)		 130
(5.12)		 41
(1.61)		 16
(0.63)		 1,787
(70.35)
Source: NOAA (1961-1990)[4]

See also

References & Sources

  1. ↑ "Manmaw", Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ↑ "An Introduction to the Toponymy of Burma" The Permanent Committee of Geographic Names (PCGN), United Kingdom, October 2007, page 12, accessed 18 April 2010
  3. ↑ http://population.mongabay.com/population/myanmar/1328218/bhamo
  4. ↑ "Bhamaw Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bhamo.

Coordinates: 24°16′N 97°14′E / 24.267°N 97.233°E / 24.267; 97.233

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