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42-521: The town began as a military outpost established near a small Shan village with two dozen households on the Lashio - Mandalay trail between Nawnghkio and Mandalay . In 1897, a permanent military post was established in the town and later, because of its climate, it became a hill station and the summer capital of British Burma. The establishment in Burma (civil, commercial and military) would move to Maymyo during

84-440: A new humanitarian crisis. Shan civil society organisations are concerned about the lack of international response on the recent conflict. Sericulture Sericulture , or silk farming , is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk . Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. This species of silkmoth

126-444: A result. The cocoons of Tussar silkworms, which are found in open woodlands, are used to produce wild silk , also known as Tussar silk. Compared to conventional silk, their cocoons are typically picked after the moths have emerged, making it a more ethical option. Because wild silkworms consume a variety of plants, their fabric is less uniform but more robust. The fabric is made with fewer chemicals as well. The pupae are still inside

168-524: Is also a diverse mix of Chinese, Chin, Kachin , Karen , Shan , Bamars (Burmese) and communities. Maymyo was an important educational centre during colonial times, with the GEHSs (Government English High Schools), such as St. Mary's , St. Michael's , St. Albert's , St. Joseph's Convent , and Colgate, are all based in the town. British settlers and colonial administrators sent their children to be educated here, both European and Anglo-Burmese children. The town

210-697: Is also the site of the decisive battle of Maymyo where the Burmese royal army under Maha Thiha Thura defeated the Chinese Army in the third invasion during the Sino-Burmese War of 1765–1769. The town has approximately 10,000 Indian and 8,000 Gurkha inhabitants who settled in Maymyo during British rule. Today, Pyin Oo Lwin has a thriving Eurasian community, consisting mostly of Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indians . There

252-681: Is an adaptation of the Mon–Burmese script via the Burmese alphabet . However, only a few Shan can read and write in their own language. Shan state is the most illiterate state with over a million illiterates in Myanmar due to lack of basic infrastructures and long ongoing civil war . The Shan are traditionally wet-rice cultivators, shopkeepers, and artisans . The Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China . The Shan are descendants of

294-486: Is no longer found in the wild as they have been modified through selective breeding, rendering most flightless and without defense against predators. Silk is believed to have first been produced in China as early as the Neolithic period. Sericulture has become an important cottage industry in countries such as Brazil , China, France , India , Italy , Japan , Korea , Russia , and Thailand . Today, China and India are

336-483: Is planned for 2007. Today, Pyin Oo Lwin is noted as four centres of national economic importance. It is the centre of sericulture ( silkworm rearing). The Sericulture Research Centre, near the National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens , has three distinct roles: the intensive planting and harvesting of mulberry trees (leaves for the silkworms, bark for handmade paper), the rearing of silkworms, and

378-618: The Irrawaddy valley. Various Shan states fought Ava for the control of Upper Burma . The states of Monyhin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung were the strongest of the Shan States. Monhyin-led Confederation of Shan States defeated Ava in 1527, and ruled all of Upper Burma until 1555. The Burmese king Bayinnaung conquered all of the Shan states in 1557. Although the Shan states would become a tributary to Irrawaddy valley based Burmese kingdoms from then on,

420-721: The Shan State Army/Special Region 3 and Shan State Army/Restoration Council of Shan State . In 2005 the Shan State National Army (SSNA) was effectively abolished after its surrender to the Burmese government. Some SSNA units joined the SSA/RCSS, which has yet to sign any agreements, and is still engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Burmese Army . During conflicts, Shan civilians are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. Some of

462-673: The Shan State War Council (SSWC) and the Shan State Army (SSA) , becoming chair of the SSWC, and taking the Shan rebellion that started in 1958 to a new phase. Sao Nang Hearn Kham died on 17 January 2003 in exile in Canada at the age of 86. Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanfa in Thai ), son of Sao Nang Hearn Kham of Yawnghwe lived in exile in Canada . He was campaigning for

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504-668: The Tai Long or Thai Yai , are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia . The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma ( Myanmar ) and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region , Kachin State , Kayah State , Sagaing Region and Kayin State , and in adjacent regions of China ( Dai people ), Laos , Assam and Meghalaya ( Ahom people ), Cambodia ( Kula people ), Vietnam and Thailand . Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935,

546-605: The 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044–1077). After the Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols in 1287, the Shan chiefs quickly gained power throughout central Burma, and founded: Many Ava and Pegu kings of Burmese history between the 13th–16th centuries were of (partial) Shan descent. The kings of Ava fought kings of Pegu for control of

588-708: The 6th century CE, the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire led to its establishment in the Mediterranean, remaining a monopoly in the Byzantine Empire for centuries ( Byzantine silk ). In 1147, during the Second Crusade , Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154) attacked Corinth and Thebes , two important centres of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their equipment and establishing his own silkworks in Palermo and Calabria , eventually spreading

630-598: The British commanders acknowledged. In the latter half of the 19th century Shan people migrated into Northern Thailand reaching Phrae Province . The Shan population in Thailand is concentrated mainly in Chiang Rai , Chiang Mai , Mae Hong Son , Mae Sariang , Mae Sai and Lampang , where there are groups which settled long ago and built their own communities and temples. Shan people are known as "Tai Yai" in north Thailand, where

672-470: The Burmese Army indefinitely, or enslaved to do road work for a number of months—with no wages and little food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive exodus of young Shan males to neighbouring Thailand, where they are not given refugee status. Shan people in Thailand often work as undocumented labourers. Males typically find low-paid work in construction, while many Shan females fall in

714-528: The Burmese regime to leave the Federated Shan States and return to their own country, to respect the traditional culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people. He worked with the interim Shan Government, with Shan exiles abroad, and the Burmese regime to regain his country. Opinion has been voiced in the Shan State, in neighboring Thailand , and to some extent in distant exile communities, in favor of

756-643: The Shan Saophas retained a large degree of autonomy. Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, it would have been harder for the Burmans alone to achieve their victories in Lower Burma , Siam , and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact even

798-857: The Shan are called Tai Yai (ไทใหญ่, lit.   ' Great Tai ' ) or Ngiao ( Thai : เงี้ยว ) in Tai yuan language . The Shan also have a number of exonyms in other minority languages, including Pa'O : ဖြဝ်ꩻ, Western Pwo Karen : ၥဲၫ့, and Mon သေံဇၞော် listen ( seṃ jnok) . The major groups of Shan people are: The speakers of Shan, Lue, Khun and Nua languages form the majority of Dai nationality in China . There are various ethnic groups designated as Tai throughout Shan State , Northern Sagaing Division and Kachin State . Some of these groups in fact speak Tibeto-Burman and Mon-Khmer and Assamese language , although they are assimilated into Shan society. The majority of Shan are Theravada Buddhists , and Tai folk religion . The Shan constitute one of

840-467: The Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million, with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population. 'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai-speaking peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi , the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio , Kengtung and Tachileik . The Shan use

882-660: The arrest of Sao Shwe Thaik of Yawnghwe in the Burmese coup d'état in March 1962 by the Revolutionary Council headed by General Ne Win , his wife Sao Nang Hearn Kham fled with her family to Thailand in April 1962 and Sao Shwe Thaik died in prison in November the same year. In exile, his wife took up the cause of the independence struggle of the Shan State . In 1964 Sao Nang Hearn Kham with her son Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe helped to form

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924-532: The border to Thailand, caused an evacuation of the surviving members across the Mekong River to Laos . This evacuation was aided by members of the Shan State Army, and in turn brought tighter measures restricting foreign aid in the area as violence increased. Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular, young men may be conscripted into

966-619: The country's larger populations of Anglo-Burmese . The British named the location Maymyo, literally 'May's Town' in Burmese , after Colonel May , a veteran of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and commander of the Bengal Regiment temporarily stationed in the town in 1887. The military government of Burma renamed the town Pyin U Lwin, the word-for-word Burmese transcription of the Shan "City (ဝဵင်း, Weng⁴ ) of Paang²uu⁴ (ပၢင်ႇဢူး)". The area

1008-464: The declaration, the Burmese Army is rumoured to have used it as a reason to crack down on Shan civilians. Shan people have reported an increase in restrictions on their movements and an escalation in Burmese Army raids on Shan villages. The October 2015 Burmese military offensive in Central Shan State has displaced thousands of Shan people, as well as Palaung , Lisu and Lahu people , causing

1050-528: The earliest known evidence of sericulture. Also, by careful analysis of archaeological silk fibre found on Indus Civilization sites dating back to 2450–2000 BCE, it is believed that silk was being used over a wide region of South Asia. By about the first half of the 1st century CE, it had reached ancient Khotan , by a series of interactions along the Silk Road. By 140 CE, the practice had been established in India. In

1092-472: The endonym Tai (တႆး) in reference to themselves, which is also used in Chinese ( Chinese : 傣族 ; pinyin : Dǎizú ). Shan (ရှမ်း) is an exonym from the Burmese language ; the term itself was historically spelt သျှမ်း ( MLCTS : hsyam: ), and is derived from the term Siam , the former name of Thailand. The term has been borrowed into Chinese ( Chinese : 掸族 ; pinyin : Shànzú ). In Thai ,

1134-931: The four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma; the others are the Bamar , the Mon and the Rakhine . The Mon were the main source of early Shan Buddhism and Shan scripts . Most Shan speak the Shan language and are bilingual in Burmese . The Shan language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to Thai and Lao , and is part of the family of Tai languages . It is spoken in Shan State , some parts of Kachin State , some parts of Sagaing Division in Burma, parts of Yunnan , and in parts of northwestern Thailand, including Mae Hong Son Province and Chiang Mai Province . The two major dialects differ in number of tones : Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while Mongnai Shan has five. The Shan alphabet

1176-467: The goal of "total independence for the Shan State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders in exile declared the independence of the Federated Shan States . The declaration of independence was rejected by most other ethnic minority groups, many Shan living inside Burma, and the country's leading opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi 's National League for Democracy . Despite the domestic opposition to

1218-582: The hands of human trafficking gangs and end up in the prostitution business or bride trafficking. Despite the hardships, Shan people in Thailand are conscious of their culture and seek occasions to gather in cultural events. Although the Government of Burma does not recognise Wa State , the Burmese military has frequently used the United Wa State Army (UWSA) as an ally for the purpose of fighting against Shan nationalist militia groups. Following

1260-452: The hot season to escape from Rangoon's high heat and humidity. During British rule and through the 1970s, Maymyo had a large Anglo-Burmese population, but this steadily declined. During the Japanese occupation, as many Anglos were concentrated in and around Maymyo, the Japanese incarcerated many of them for fear of their loyalty to the British very close to Maymyo. Today, Maymyo still has one of

1302-436: The industry to Western Europe. The silkworms are fed with mulberry leaves, and after the fourth moult , they climb a twig placed near them and spin their silken cocoons . The silk is a continuous filament comprising fibroin protein , secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each worm, and a gum called sericin , which cements the filaments. The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees

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1344-572: The main local businesses. There has been an influx of Chinese immigrants (especially from Yunnan ) in recent years. The city is a resort town for visitors from Myanmar's major cities during the summertime and a popular stop for foreign tourists during the winter season. Established in 1915, the National Botanical Gardens and the adjacent Pyin Oo Lwin Nursery are attractions of Pyin Oo Lwin. A 4-acre (16,000 m) orchid garden

1386-751: The majority Bamar leadership at the Panglong Conference , and agreed to gain independence from Britain as part of Union of Burma . The Shan states were given the option to secede after 10 years of independence. The Shan states became Shan State in 1948 as part of the newly independent Burma. General Ne Win 's coup d'état overthrew the democratically elected government in 1962, and abolished Shan saopha system. A Shan independence movement has been active and engaged in armed struggle, leading to intermittent civil war within Burma for decades. Currently two main Shan armed insurgent forces operate within Shan State:

1428-534: The oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as Tai Luang ('Great Tai') or Tai Yai ('Big Tai'). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai ), while those in parts of northern Thailand and Laos are commonly known as Tai Noi ('Little Tai' – Lao spoken) The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Burma as far back as

1470-670: The raw silk is packed according to quality. The most popular substitute for traditional silk is peace silk, also known as ahimsa silk . The primary factor that makes this form of silk more ethical is that moths are permitted to emerge from their cocoons and fly away prior to boiling. It denotes that no pupa is ever cooked alive during manufacture. However, domesticated silkworms used to make silk have undergone thousands of years of selective breeding and are not "manufactured" to emerge from their cocoons. They are unable to defend themselves against predators since they cannot fly or see clearly. They typically die soon after emerging from their cocoons as

1512-406: The reeling of the silk from the cocoons. It has a large research centre for indigenous medicinal plants . It has one of the country's few pharmaceutical production facilities. Pyin Oo Lwin is the centre of the country's flower and vegetable production. The most important flowers grown intensively are chrysanthemum , aster and gladiolus , which are exported to every corner of Myanmar throughout

1554-512: The silk filaments and readies them for reeling. This is known as the degumming process. The immersion in hot water also kills the silkmoth pupa. Single filaments are combined to form thread , in a process called "throwing", which is drawn under tension through several guides and wound onto reels. This process of throwing produces various yarns depending on the amount and direction of the twisting. The threads may be plied to form yarn (short staple lengths are spun; see silk noil ). After drying,

1596-513: The two main producers, with more than 60% of the world's annual production. According to Confucian text, the discovery of silk production dates to about 2700 BCE, although archaeological records point to silk cultivation as early as the Yangshao period (5000–3000 BCE). In 1977, a piece of ceramic created 5400–5500 years ago and designed to look like a silkworm was discovered in Nancun, Hebei , providing

1638-537: The word Shan is very seldom used to refer to them. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the British gained control of the Shan states. Under the British colonial administration, the Shan principalities were administered separately as British protectorates with limited monarchical powers invested in the Shan Saophas . After World War II , the Shan and other ethnic minority leaders negotiated with

1680-710: The worst fighting in recent times occurred in 2002 when the Burmese army shelled the Thai border town of Mae Sai , south of Tachileik , in an attempt to capture members of the SSA 's Southern Faction who had fled across the Nam Ruak . While in July of that same year, in the Shan Township of Mong Yawng , the killing of a member of an NGO by the Burmese Tatmadaw , and the subsequent closure of

1722-427: The year. Lastly, Pyin Oo Lwin is the centre of Myanmar's rapidly growing coffee industry. Several factories in the town process coffee beans for country-wide distribution and export. Shan people The Shan people (Short name or simple name in Shan : တႆး , pronounced [taj˥] , Real name တႆးလူင် , IPA taj˥.loŋ˨˦ ; Burmese : ရှမ်းလူမျိုး , pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ lùmjó] ), also known as

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1764-625: Was also the location of the various schools of military education open to all ethnicities. It is today home to the Defence Services Academy (DSA) and the Defence Services Technological Academy (DSTA). There is a large military presence in the town. Nowadays private schools such as Soe San, Sar Pan Eain, Genius and others are thriving. Sweater knitting , flower and vegetable gardens , strawberry and pineapple orchards, coffee plantations and cow rearing are

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