Hpa-an
Myanmar · Asia
About Hpa-an
Hpa-an is a large city in southeastern Myanmar and the capital and largest city of Kayin State (Karen State). The population as of the 2014 census was 421,575, mostly of the Karen ethnic group. Hpa-An has surpassed Taunggyi as the fifth largest city in Myanmar.
Legend has it that Hpa-An was created by the dragon king and the frog king. King Mandu (မဏ္ဍုဖားမင်းကြီး), a giant frog, lived at 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. The frog king thought the ruby was his food, and as he swallowed it, he gained the powers of the magic ruby and was able to resist his enemy, the dragon king. The place where the dragon king vomited the frog king is therefore called Hpa-An. The impressive statues of these figures can be seen in the Shwe Yin Myaw Pagoda's compound.
Hpa-An has an extreme tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am). Temperatures are hot throughout the year, although maximum temperatures are somewhat...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.