«——【Preamble】】 ——»
In people's minds, the capital is the core of a country's politics and culture, and it is not only a symbol of national power, but also the sustenance of the national spirit. And as the capital of a country, its prosperous scene is naturally self-evident.
However, not all capitals are bustling scenes, there is such a country, spent 4 billion US dollars to build a new capital, thought that the new capital will attract many people to settle and live, but the result is empty, and this country is Myanmar.
Knowing that Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, is not only rich in cultural heritage, but also very economically developed, what made the Myanmar government move the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw, which is deep in the mountains?
«——【·Former Capital Yangon·】——»
When it comes to Yangon, the city is not only the largest city in Myanmar, but also a city with a rich history. It started as a small town, but through hard work and continued development, it grew stronger and became one of Myanmar's leading cities.
It is worth mentioning that Yangon's strategic location and close proximity to the Indian Ocean bring it unique maritime conditions. Thanks to this advantage, Yangon has gradually emerged as an important commercial port in Myanmar, attracting merchant ships from all over the world.
And to say that Yangon can become the capital of Myanmar, we have to start from the period when Myanmar was colonized. In the 19th century, the British used their strong force to occupy part of Burma, and took the occupied area as their own colony, and when they were looking for the seat of government for the colony, the British also noticed Yangon, and the British found that Yangon was very convenient for both sea and land transportation, so they set up a colonial government in Yangon.
Although Yangon's economic development at that time was better than that of other parts of Myanmar, it was still a little backward in the eyes of the British, so the British transformed Yangon. After that, Burma also became a vassalage of the British under the force of the British, so Yangon naturally became the government of the entire Burmese colony.
In order to make Yangon look like a modern capital, the British also began to renovate Yangon, not only built many modern facilities, but also strongly supported the development of Yangon. In this way, Yangon has gradually become an economically developed region in Myanmar by relying on its geographical advantages and modern facilities.
After World War II, with the rise of the wave of national independence, Myanmar also broke away from the control of the British and became an independent country. When choosing the capital, the then Burmese government took a fancy to Yangon at first sight, after all, Yangon at that time could be said to be the most economically developed city in Myanmar, so Yangon naturally became the capital of Myanmar.
In the following decades, the Myanmar government also continued to transform Yangon, which also led to the fact that due to Yangon's good economic development, many Burmese people chose to go to Yangon to work and live, so the population of Yangon began to increase sharply, and the development of Yangon could not keep up with the rate of population increase, so with the development, contradictions are constantly breeding.
In order to improve the situation, the Burmese government wants to choose another place to serve as the new capital of Myanmar to ease the pressure on Yangon.
«——【·换都·】 ——»
So in 2005, the Myanmar government said that it had changed its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw, and the Burmese people were also very puzzled when they learned about this situation, wondering when the government would change the government, and they were also very curious about the new government Naypyidaw.
The construction of Naypyidaw began in 2002, you must know that Naypyidaw was only a desolate place at that time, and this area was built into a modern city in just 3 years, the amount of work in the middle is not small, and the Myanmar government also attaches great importance to the construction of the new capital, in order to complete the construction, the Myanmar government spent 4 billion US dollars.
For some developed countries, $4 billion may not be a big deal, but for Myanmar, this amount of money can be said to be a huge expense, which shows the expectations of the Myanmar government for Naypyidaw.
In addition to the high cost, the Myanmar government has not slackened in the construction, not only all kinds of modern facilities, but also the transportation is very convenient.
But despite the fact that Naypyidaw is a modern city, not many people live in it, and not even a few cars are seen on the road. Not to mention the stately built shopping mall.
The reason for this is that the Burmese government's announcement of the relocation of the capital was a very sudden event, and after the announcement, the entire government was moved to Naypyidaw in just a few hours, but the Burmese people obviously did not react.
And compared to inland Naypyidaw, Yangon is more attractive to the public, after all, Yangon is much better than Naypyidaw in every way. And before Naypyidhu became the capital, it was just a desolate mountainous area with no cultural heritage, so it could not attract people.
So why is the Burmese government still insisting on moving the capital to Naypyidaw?
«——【Reason for moving the capital·】——»
In fact, the reason why the Myanmar government changed the capital is because Yangon was a commercial port city before that, you know, for the country, the capital is generally the political, cultural and economic center of the country, so the location is generally located in the inland area, so it is safer. Although the waterfront area is easily accessible, the risks are much greater than those inside.
In fact, to put it bluntly, the Burmese government's choice to move the capital is from a security perspective, after all, Yangon is located on a very flat terrain, and there is no defensive advantage in rushing to Run, and in the event of a conflict, Yangon will definitely become the first target of the other side.
On the contrary, the new capital, Naypyidaw, is located between mountains, which is an excellent location in terms of topography and safety.
In addition, Yangon's development has shown signs of saturation, but there is still a steady stream of people, which will cause increasing competition between people, and conflicts will also appear, so Naypyidaw was built to relieve the pressure on Yangon.
However, the reality is that the new capital has been built, but no one wants to come, and even after more than ten years of development, the population of Naypyidaw is still not on the rise.
Perhaps in the minds of the Burmese people, the Burmese government's plan to change the "capital" has not been approved by the people, as can be seen from the reluctance of the Burmese people to go to life. As for the future development of Naypyidaw, we can only wait and see.
Information sources:
CCTV International, "[Global Times] Myanmar's New Capital Unveils the Mystery", March 27, 2007
China News Network, "Why Myanmar Moved the Capital?: Unveiling the Mystery of Myanmar's New Capital", May 23, 2007