Shwebo

Shwebo is a city in the Sagaing Division of Myanmar, located 113 km north-west of Mandalay on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River. It is along the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line but is best reached by pickup truck bus the roads from Mandalay and Monywa are in reasonably good shape.

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The area around Shwebo was the site of the anient Pyu city-state of Hanlin.

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Shwebo was royal capital of Burma under King Alaungpaya (who was a Shwebo native) from 1760-1764. He used the city as a base from which to conquer Ava and Lower Burma, establishing the Third Burmese Empire. His successor, King Hsinbyushin, moved the capital to Amarapura in the 1780s, and the city has been in decline ever since.

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As with Monywa, the city is a trade center for agricultural produce, especially beans, rice and sesame from the surrounding plains between the Mu and the Ayeyarwady River.

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The major tourist attraction in Shwebo(although very few tourists make it here, and facilities are very limited) are its numerous Buddhist temples, and the ruins of Alaungpaya's palace. The city is still surrounded by its ancient moat.

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Sagaing Division: Sagaing Division is a division of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21? 30' north and longitude 94? 97' east. It is bordered by India?s Nagaland and Manipur States to the north, Kachin State, Shan State, and Mandalay Division to the east, Mandalay Division an...

Myanmar: The Union of Myanmar, formerly the Union of Burma, is the largest country (in geographical area) in mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the south east, Bangladesh on the west, and India on the north west, with the Anda...

Mandalay: Mandalay (Burmese: ) is the second largest city (2000 pop. est. 801,707) and former royal capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma), and capital of the current Mandalay Division. The city is bordered by the Ayeyarwady River and is located at , 716 km north of Yangon. It is in the center of Myanmar's dry ...