Hpa-an

Hpa-an (ဘားအံမြို့, phə ʔàɰ̃ mjo̰; ဍုံထ်ုအင်; ဖၣ်အၣ်ဝ့ၢ်ဖိ, also spelled Pa-an) is the capital and largest city of Kayin State (Karen State), Myanmar (Burma). The population of Hpa-an as of the 2014 census was 421,575. Most of the people in Hpa-an are of the Karen ethnic group. Legend has it that Hpa-An was created by the dragon king and the frog king. King Mandu (မဏ္ဍုဖားမင်းကြီး), a giant frog lived the top of the Mount Hpan Pu. One day, while out searching for food, he saw a large magic ruby with an emerald club placed on the throne in the foot cave of Mount Hpan Pu, and the frog king thought the ruby was his food and swallowed it. He gained powers by swallowing the magic ruby and was able to resist his enemy, the dragon king. The place where the dragon king vomited the frog king is called Hpa-An (lit. 'vomit frog'). The impressive statues of these figures can be seen in the Shwe Yin Myaw Pagoda's compound. Hpa-An has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although maximum temperatures are somewhat depressed in the monsoon season due to heavy cloud and rain. There is a winter dry season (November–April) and a summer wet season (May–October). Torrential rain falls from June to September, with over falling in July and August alone. Air Hpa-An was linked to Yangon, Mawlamyine and Hpapun by air but the airport ceased operations. Buses There are express buses from Hpa-An to Yangon, Mawlamyine, the border crossing at Myawaddy and other towns. 1953: 4,100 1983: 41,500 2014: 421,525 Computer University, Hpa-An Hpa-An Education College Hpa-An Nursing Training School Hpa-An University Technological University, Hpa-An The majority of residents are Theravada Buddhists, followed by Baptist, Anglican and Roman Catholics. Kayin State Cultural Museum is located in Hpa-An. Mount Zwegabin and Mount Taung Wine are attractive places for visitors, as well as Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda in which the sacred hair relic of Buddha is enshrined.