Kyaukpyu is a major town in Rakhine State

Rakhine State

Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...

, in western Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island

Ramree Island

Ramree Island is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Burma. The area of the island is about 1350 km². The Battle of Ramree Island took place here for six weeks during January and February 1945, as part of the British Fourteenth Army 1944/45 offensive on the Southern Front of the Burma...

 on Combermere

Combermere

Combermere can refer to:*Combermere Abbey, Cheshire, England*Combermere Park, Cheshire, England*Combermere, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, England*Combermere House, Nantwich, a listed building in Nantwich, Cheshire...

 Bay, and is 250 miles (400 km) northwest of Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

. The town is situated on a superb natural harbor

Harbor

A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...

 which connects the rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 trade between Calcutta and Yangon. If the June 2009 plans of the Chinese and Myanmar governments go ahead, the port of Kyaukpyu will be the terminus for Middle East and African tankers supplying oil to China. The oil will be transported by a 660 mile (1100 km) pipeline from Kyaukpyu to Kunming

Kunming

' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...

 in China's Yunnan province. The estimated population in 1983 was 19,456 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name Kyaukpyu (lit. "white rock") is the Burmese

Burmese language

The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...

 pronunciation or the local Yangbye

Yangbye language

Yangbye , also known as Ramree, is the main dialect spoken in Southern Arakan, especially in Ramree Island region, Arakan State in Burma , and the Awagyun Island and southern coastal regions in Bangladesh. The population of Yangbye language speaking people inside Burma is 810,000 in 1983; and...

 pronunciation of the natives of Kyaukpyu. In standard Arakanese

Burmese dialects

There are a number of mutually intelligible Burmese dialects in the Burmese language, with a largely uniform standard dialect used by most Burmese speakers, who live throughout the Irrawaddy River valley and more distinctive non-standard dialects that emerge as one toward peripheral areas of the...

, the town's name is pronounced Kyaukpru. The old Kyaukpyu is situated 7 miles from the present town where two colossal white rocks exist.

History

The place where the present town was originally a small fishing village. After the first Anglo-Burmese War, the British established Kyaukpyu in 1837 on the spot of the fishing village. In 1852, Kyaukphyu became a district city.

On October 22, 2010, Cyclone Giri

Cyclone Giri

Cyclone Giri was a powerful tropical cyclone which caused catastrophic damage in parts of Myanmar in late October 2010...

 made landfall on the west coast of Myanmar just north of the town at category five strength.

Demographics

The town is predominantly Buddhist but there is a small Muslim community of fishermen.

Quarters or Wards

• Eastern Quarter
• Western Quarter
• Central Quarter
• Myit Nar Dan Quarter
• Zayditaung Quarter
• Asoeya Quarter
• Ayarshi Quarter
• Thanbanchaung Quarter
• Paikseik (West) Quarter
• Paikseik (East) Quarter

Attractions

• Kyaukpyu Viewpoint
  Point, Kyaukpyu
  Viewpoint, popularly known as Point is the principal attraction in Kyaukpyu, the major town of Rakhine State, Myanmar. Located at the northwestern most tip of the town it is an Urban park which looks out into where the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Kyaukpyu River meet. Kyaukpyu Viewpoint...
  
  , or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the most well known attraction in Kyaukpyu. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Thanzit (Kyaukpyu) River.
• Gant-gaw-taw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrine, believed to have built in the Vesali period.
• Kyauk-ta-lone phaya, built by King Min-ba in the Mrauk U
  Mrauk U
  Mrauk U is an archaeologically important town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is also the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a sub region of the Sittwe District. It was the capital of Mrauk U Kingdom, the most important and powerful Rakhine kingdom from 1433 to 1784.-Geography:Mrauk U lies...
  
   period, is the focal point of Kyaukpyu's Buddhist environment, beside Gant-gaw-taw shrine.

Education

Teacher training college

Teacher training college

A teacher training college is a college of higher education that specialises in training students to be teachers.Many universities offer similar facilities, a number of which acquired their provision by taking over a teacher training college or by a teacher training college evolving into a...

 (TTC) was opened in Kyaukpyu in 1953. Now, this college is known as "Kyaukpyu Education College". In 1954, Kyaukpyu Intermediate College for Arakan, the embryo of Sittwe University was opened in Kyaukpyu.

Other

Maurice Collis

Maurice Collis

Maurice Stewart Collis was an administrator in Burma when it was part of the British Empire, and afterwards a writer on Southeast Asia, China and other historical subjects.-Life:...

, a famous British writer, lived in Kyaukpyu in 1920s. His house, situated outskirts of Kyaukpyu is maintained as a historic building.