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Myitkyina

File:Myitkyina,_Myanmar_(Burma)_-_panoramio_(1).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Myitkyina (, ; Jinghpaw: Myitkyina, ; ) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just downstream from Myit-son (Burmese for confluence) of its two headstreams (the Mali and N'mai rivers). It is the northernmost river port and railway terminus in Myanmar. The city is served by Myitkyina Airport.

OverviewAI-generated

Myitkyina is a city in Myanmar and serves as the capital of Kachin State. Located within Myitkyina Township, the city sits at an elevation of approximately 144 to 147 meters above sea level. It operates in the Asia/Yangon time zone, which corresponds to UTC+06:30. The local dialing code for the area is 74.

Population figures for Myitkyina vary by source, with estimates ranging from 90,894 to 243,031 residents. The city is the site of the historical Siege of Myitkyina and has been described in the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. Current weather data indicates a temperature of 22.48 degrees Celsius with 99% humidity.

Synthesized by Vinony from 44 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

cached 15h ago
26°few clouds
84% 0.5 m/s OpenWeatherMap

7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality
မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့
Region
ကချင်ပြည်နယ်
Country
မြန်မာ
Population
90,894
Timezone
Asia/Yangon

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

26US AQIGood
PM2.5
5.8 µg/m³
PM10
5.8 µg/m³
As of 2026-09-27 08:30 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.settlement_type
Capital Town
Settlement.native_name
မြစ်ကြီးနားမြို့
Settlement.native_name_lang
my
Settlement.official_name
Myitkyina
Settlement.pushpin_label_position
bottom
Settlement.pushpin_map
Myanmar
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location in Myanmar (Burma)
Settlement.image_skyline
Myitkyina, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (1).jpg
Settlement.imagesize
300px
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Division
Settlement.subdivision_type2
District
Settlement.subdivision_name2
Myitkyina District
Settlement.subdivision_type3
Township
Settlement.subdivision_name3
Myitkyina Township
Settlement.unit_pref
Imperial
Settlement.area_code
74
Settlement.population_as_of
2014

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Country
Myanmar
Population
243031
Elevation
144
Time zone
UTC+06:30
Capital of
Kachin State
Image
Myitkyina-ayeyarwady-d01.jpg
Dialing code
74
Significant event
Siege of Myitkyina
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Myitkyina
topic's main category
Category:Myitkyina
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

Although today a sleepy backwater, Myitkyina was the site of a bitter battle between Japanese and Allied forces during the Second World War. The town was almost completely destroyed in the battle. The location of the town, in an opportunistic valley between India and China, made it strategic enough to be on the Ledo Road built by the US General Joseph Stilwell. Myitkyina could, one day, become an important way station for trade between the two Asian giants, India and China. For now, Myitkyina is a destination because of the journey. There is no road or river connection to Bhamo due to conflicts between "rebels" and the army south of the city) and because it is a staging point for trips to Indawgyi Lake and Putao (Jun 2012).

The best time to visit is in late Oct-early Feb.

Get around

Myitkyina is small. You can get anywhere in the city by trishaw or by walking.

If you arrive by train, turn left and walk along the main street to get to the city centre. After reaching an intersection with a clock tower, turn right and left to go to New Light Hotel, or left and right for the YMCA.

As of February 2018 foreigners are still barred from river or overland travel to Bhamo To reach Bhamo there is only one flight a week, Myanmar Air leaving at 1 pm Monday's. The flight is only 25 minutes and as of February 2018 the cost was $86 USD with taxes and travel agent fees. Other option is to travel to Katha and travel up river by boat.

Tuk tuk to the airport (10 minutes from the city) will be around 3,000-4,000 kyat.

Do

Visit the memorial dedicated to the Chinese Expeditionary Forces.

Buy

One can find and buy the world's best jade and gems. Buy Kachin traditional dresses, handicrafts, and other national cultural textiles and food.

Go next

Myitson (Mali Zup in Kachin language), the confluence of Mali and Nmai Rivers and the starting point of the Irrawady River, 32 km from Myitkyina Indawgyi Lake

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

14 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Climate
  • Air quality
  • Population
  • Religion
  • Economy
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Public hospitals
  • Military
  • See also
  • Notes
  • External links

Myitkyina (, ; Jinghpaw: Myitkyina, ; ) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just downstream from Myit-son (Burmese for confluence) of its two headstreams (the Mali and N'mai rivers). It is the northernmost river port and railway terminus in Myanmar. The city is served by Myitkyina Airport.

==History== The area surrounding Myitkyina, including what is now Waingmaw, has been an important trading zone between China and Myanmar since ancient times. The nearby town of Katkyo, from the Shan Kat Kio (), had its legendary founding in 1294 on the left (east) bank of the river. The region was then under the rule of Möng Kawng and other Shan states until the Konbaung dynasty, when it increasingly came under the control of Burmese and Kachin authorities.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Myitkyina” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (10)

On the map

6 mapped locations