Sagaing

Sagaing စစ်ကိုင်းမြို့
The Ava Bridge on the Irrawaddy
Sagaing Location in Burma
Coordinates: 21°52′56″N 95°58′43″E
Country	Burma
Division	Sagaing Region
Government
• Mayor
Population (2005)
• Religions	Buddhism
Time zone	MST (UTC+6.30)

Sagaing (Burmese: စစ်ကိုင်းမြို့; MLCTS: sac kuing: mrui., pronounced [zəɡáiɴ mjo̰]) is the capital of Sagaing Region (formerly Sagaing Division) in Myanmar. Located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 km to the southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the 240 m hill.

Sagaing was the capital of Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that rose up after the fall of Pagan dynasty. During the Ava period (1364–1555), the city was the common fief of the crown prince or senior princes. The city briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763 in the reign of King Naungdawgyi.

On August 8, 1988, Sagaing was the site of demonstrations which were concluded by a massacre in which around 300 civilians were killed.

Today, the city is a frequent tourist destination of day trippers. The city is home to the Sagaing Institute of Education and the Sagaing Education College.

People

• List of kings of Sagaing Kingdom
• Sithu Kyawhtin, King of Ava (1552–1555)
• Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui, last Ming Dynasty claimant to China, lived in exile at Sagaing in 1661.
• Maurice Collis, author of Trials in Burma, was district commissioner of the Sagaing district in 1928.

Images

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  Ayeyarwady River from Sagaing Hill, Sagaing

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  Pagodas that dot Sagaing

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  U Min Thonze Cave