Myanmar, located in the southwest of China, although its geographical environment is superior, the land is fertile and the resources are abundant, it is one of the least developed countries in the world. Although the Country of Myanmar is weak, it has a very important strategic position. In ancient times, the two major civilizations of China and India shone with each other, and Myanmar was located between the two major civilizations, which was a bridge for the exchange of the two major civilizations. With the advent of the marine age, Myanmar is adjacent to the Indian Ocean, the world's main traffic artery, behind the vast Chinese mainland, Myanmar's status is more important, for the back door of our country. Since the incorporation of Yunnan into China's territory in the Yuan Dynasty, china's Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties have all actively approached Burma, and even when China's national strength was weak, China could not relax its vigilance against Myanmar. Dissecting geography and combing through history, we will find that the reason why Myanmar is important is actually closely related to a major traffic artery.
China,India and Myanmar
This major artery is the Irrawaddy River that runs through the north and south of Myanmar. There are two main tributaries of the Yi River, the eastern branch is the Dulong River, also known as the Enmei KaiJiang, and the western branch is the Maili Kaijiang. After the two rivers merge in Myitykina, they head south through Bhamo, Mandalay, Magway, Hinthada and other places into the Indian Ocean.
The Mai Li Kai River and the Enmei Kai River (Dulong River) in the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River is the largest river in Myanmar, in china's ancient records, the Irrawaddy River is called "Great Jinsha River", "Lishui", etc., along the coast of Myanmar's history, culture and economy of the center, Myanmar's major cities are almost all along the river. From the Indian Ocean up the Yi River, it can reach Myitkyina, and most of the precious jade, amber, precious stones and agricultural products from central Myanmar are transported to Yangon through the Yi River. Therefore, the Yijiang River is the main artery of Yunnan-Burma trade and transportation in Myanmar. The status of the river in Myanmar is comparable to that of the Yangtze River in China.
An important town along the Irrawaddy River
In addition to being a commercial avenue, the Irrawaddy River is also the main passage for the use of soldiers. Especially after the advent of the maritime age, the Irrawaddy River north to the heart of Burma has become a traditional passage for maritime forces to invade Burma. During the 19th century, British colonists invaded Burma, which moved north from the Irrawaddy River. During the First Anglo-Burmese War, the British army first attacked Burma from the Arakan region of Assam, India, and the Burmese-Bangladesh junction to attract the main force of the Burmese army, and then landed in Yangon in southern Burma with more than 10,000 people, north along the Irrawaddy River, and captured the important town of Pyay along the river. Because it was the rainy season, the British army did not dare to go north, so they tried to negotiate peace with the Burmese army, but under the harsh conditions such as the British side proposed to cut land and pay indemnities, the Burmese side was difficult to accept, so the Burmese side organized troops to launch an attack on the British army, but the Burmese army was defeated again, and the British army went north along the river, captured the city of Bagan (Pagan), and approached the Burmese capital Awa (present-day Mandalay). In the Second and Third Anglo-Burmese Wars, the Northern Route from the Irrawaddy River to the north was an important route for the British invasion until it broke through the Burmese capital of Awa (present-day Mandalay) and completely destroyed the Burmese feudal dynasty.
The Japanese invaded Burma on both the east and the west
After the British colonists annexed Burma, they also built railways from Yangon to The North via Bago, Toungoo ( Tonggu ) , Mandalay and other places to Myitkyina , and the situation in Mandalay was even more important. After that, from Yangon to the north, you can follow the Irrawaddy River north by waterway, and you can go north from the railway to Mandalay. During World War II, the Japanese invaded Burma, from the east to the west, the Middle East route was Bago along the Yangon-Myitkyina railway north, the west road from Yangon along the Irrawaddy River north, the second road directly to Mandalay. In the Battle of Tonggu on the Eastern Road, our army lost, while in the Battle of Yenangyaung on the Western Road, our army won a great victory and was called the "Great Victory of Ren'anqiang".
Route from Mandalay to Yunnan
In the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River, there is an important route to the Baoshan and Dali regions of China. Its route is from Mandalay to the northeast via Nawnghkio, Lashio, Hsenwi to Muse, then from Ruili into China, and then from Ruili to the Valley of Mangshi River, through Qicheng, Chafang, Mangshi and other places to Longling, and then higher ligong mountain to Lujiang town, crossing the Nu River to Baoshan, thus reaching Dali and Kunming. The route is famous for crossing the Plateau of Shan State. During the Ming Dynasty, the area around Xingwei and Lashio in the north of Shan State was originally the territory of the Ming Empire, and the Ming Empire set up the MuBang Xuanwei Division here, and the system was in present-day Xingwei, but due to the political corruption of the Ming Empire, local officials were greedy, and extorted property from the Mu state officials, resulting in it being thrown into the Burmese Donggu regime, resulting in a large area of land south of Ruili that was not owned by me and has become the territory of Burma.
Shan State, Myanmar
This route was not only an important route for the trade between Yunnan and Burma, but also an important route for the use of troops. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, emperor Ming Yongli fled from Yunnan to Wacheng (present-day Mandalay), where he was taken in by the Burmese king Mangda. Subsequently, in order to suppress the remnants of the Southern Ming forces, the Qing army ordered Wu Sangui to lead a large army to conquest. Wu Sangui crossed the Nu River from Kunming via Dali to Baoshan, and then crossed the Nu River, went south to the town of Qi, and captured Mubang (present-day Xingwei, Burma), with his troops pointing to the burmese city of Wa (Mandalay). At this time, the Burmese king Mang Da fell ill and died, and his son Mang Bai took the throne, and the new king Mang Bai was taken by the Qing army, so he attacked the Yongli Emperor's garrison at night, killing the yongli emperor's entourage, and presenting the Yongli Emperor to Wu Sangui. Originally, Wu Sangui could recover the territory of the early Ming Dynasty State of Lashio and Xingwei, but Wu Sangui was eager to make a contribution, and immediately withdrew his army after capturing the Yongli Emperor, resulting in the loss of the occupied land.
In the Qianlong period, the Qing Empire conquered Burma, and this road was an important route for the use of troops. The Qing Empire waged four wars against Burma, and since the burmese capital was Mandalay, this road was the main offensive direction of the Qing army on two occasions. Among them, especially the third time, in the thirty-second year of Qianlong, the Qianlong Emperor appointed Mingrui, the governor of Yungui, as a general, and led 30,000 elite troops into Burma in two ways. One of the roads was led by more than 10,000 troops from Mingrui out of present-day Qi town and Ruili, and from present-day Xingwei and Lashio to the city of Awa (present-day Mandalay), which was the main force of the Qing army. On the other road, Erjing led 8,000 soldiers as the north road soldiers, from Tengchong and Yingjiang out of tiebi pass through Xinjie (Bamo) to advance and fiercely, and then go south to join Mingrui at Ava (Mandalay). After Mingrui arrived in Mubang, he left 5,000 troops to guard Mubang City, and led 12,000 elite soldiers to continue to advance. When the front marched to the Xingu area, the Qing soldiers ran out of food, the soldiers and horses were exhausted, and they withdrew. The Burmese army counterattacked and surrounded the city of Mubang, and the general Mingrui was killed while covering the retreat.
The Qing army conquered the two major armies of Burma for the second time
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, with the fall of China's coastal areas, this route was the lifeline of our country's war of resistance receiving international assistance. China has built a highway from Kunming to Ruili via Dali, Baoshan, Longling and Qicheng, that is, the famous Yunnan Burma Anti-Japanese War Highway. Through this road, china can reach Mandalay via Xingwei and Lashio, and then go south along the Irrawaddy River or along the Yangon-Myitkyina Railway south into the Indian Ocean to obtain international support materials. In order to cut off this lifeline, the Japanese army launched the Burma War. The Japanese army invaded Burma, after the capture of Mandalay, the Japanese army from Lashio, Ruili, Hatsucho and other ways into Longling, straight to the Nu River, China's entire rear area was shaken.
China-Myanmar International Railway Project
Until modern times, this road was an important passage for trade with Myanmar, and the Mujie Port was a state-level port for Myanmar to connect with China. In order to promote myanmar's economic development and open up the strategic passage from Yunnan to the Indian Ocean, China and Myanmar signed a China-Myanmar international railway project. The railway route in China is basically the same as the Anti-Japanese War Highway, that is, from Kunming to Ruili via Dali, Baoshan, Longling, Qicheng and other places. In Myanmar, it is yumujie who enters the territory of Myanmar, crosses myanmar Shan State to Mandalay through Xingwei, Lashio and other places, and then roughly runs south along the Irrawaddy River to Magway, and then crosses the Rakhine Mountains to Kyaukphyu Port. The reason why this railway line chose Kyaukphyu Port instead of Yangon as its starting point, Gein Yangon Port is located at the mouth of the river, easy to silt up, the waterway is very shallow, although it has a huge economic hinterland, the most developed city in Myanmar, but can not pass large ships, can only pass through the berthed 10,000-ton ships. However, Kyaukphyu Port is a deep-water port, the outer channel of the port is very deep, and the wind and waves in the port are small, which is a natural port. If this railway is completed, it will be of great significance for further promoting China-Myanmar economic exchanges, accelerating the development of Myanmar's national economy, reducing poverty in Myanmar, and boosting Myanmar's domestic reconciliation and peace process, and at the same time, opening up a new strategic channel for China. However, some burmese civic organizations have been more vocal in opposition, and Myanmar citizens' organizations and residents of the areas passing through the railway have repeatedly protested to the Burmese government, saying that the project will have a negative impact on the local area and threaten Myanmar's national security, so China and Myanmar have to stop the project.
The traditional route of the Invasion of Yunnan by Burma
All in all, Myanmar is adjacent to India and the Indian Ocean, and has been an important passage from china's southwest region to India and the Indian Ocean since ancient times. Since the Dali and Baoshan areas are at the tail end of the Hengduan Mountains, the mountain trend has been flattened, so this area has always been the exit from Yunnan to Myanmar. The Yunnan-Burma Passage was formed very early, but because the Central Plains forces did not enter the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau until the Han Dynasty, they were opened very late. Prior to this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had sent several groups of emissaries to explore this path, but the natives of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, in order to monopolize the profits of the silk trade, tried their best to prevent the Han envoys from going deeper, and killed these emissaries. Until the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han Empire established Yongchang Commandery in present-day Baoshan, marking the maturity of this road. In the history since then, whenever there has been chaos in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, people have avoided war and often fled in two directions, one is the Red River Delta in Vietnam, and the other is Baoshan and Myanmar. Because of this, the Shan Plateau, where the road to Burma entered Burma, is a gathering place for Chinese descendants. With the advent of the maritime age, Myanmar plays a pivotal role in the security of our Greater Southwest. After the British colonists annexed Burma, they built a railway from Rangoon to Myitkyina to better colonize Burma. At the same time, it also actively infiltrated china's Yunnan region, and between Yunnan and Burma, there were often British espionage activities under the guise of scientific investigation, so the entire southwest region of our country was not at peace. During the Period of World War II, China's coastal areas all fell, and from Yangon to Mandalay, and then through Lashio, HaChi, Longling and other places to Dali, Kunming, the line, for our war of resistance lifeline, the Japanese army to occupy Burma, our anti-war lifeline was broken, drinking Ma Nu River, China's great convenience is in danger. The maritime power penetrated deep into Burma, whether it was Britain or Japan, all of them went north through the Irrawaddy River, a major traffic artery, and after the railway from Yangon to Myitkyina was completed, this railway also became another major artery outside the Yi River. In modern times, the Malacca maritime route is the lifeline of our country, but this lifeline is extremely easy to be cut off, and at the same time, India, which is across the sea from Myanmar, is a strong enemy of us, and Myanmar, as the back door of our country, its strategic value is immeasurable, and even for the core interests of our country.