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 Myitkyina
is the capital of Kachin State in the far
north of the country located 919 miles from
commercial capital Yangon or 487 miles from
Mandalay, Myanmar’s cultural heartland.
The British built railroad ends here and
its northern most port serves flat-bottomed
small boats plying to Bamaw, another big
town on the bank of Ayerwaddy. The mighty
Ayeyarwady River was born just north of
this town so as its name “Myitkyina” means
“near the big river”, the confluence of
two swift-flowing mountain streams: the
N’maihka and the Malihka.
The city has a population of approximately
150,000 comprising Kachin, Shan, Chinese,
Bamar, and Indians. While Christianity and
Buddhism are the main religions, animism,
Hinduism and Islam are also practiced.
 During
World War II, Myitkyina fell to the Allied
forces under General Joseph Stilwell after
a prolonged siege and heavy fighting between
Nationalist Chinese divisions and Merrill's
Marauders of the Northern Combat Area Command
and the besieged elements of the 33rd Imperial
Japanese Army under General Masaki Honda.
The town was strategically important not
only because of its rail and water links
to the rest of Myanmar, but also because
it was on the planned route of the Ledo-Burma
Road.
The Myitson or the junction of these
two mountain streams is a beautiful place,
torrents of wild water jumping over huge
boulders and then coming together into the
great Ayeyarwady for 2150km southward until
it’s emptied into gulf of Mottama.
 About
148 km west of Myitkyina, there is a place
called "Hpa Kant", which is home to the
best jade mines in the world.
Myitkyina is known for its colorful Kachin
New Year festival in January (around 10th
Jan) called Manao festival, where all Kachin
clans come together in their full colorful
costumes to celebrate the grand occasion
with traditional dances, singing, and drinking
of traditional rice wines.
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