Yangon

The Shwedagon Pagoda ; Mon: ကျာ် လ္ဂုၚ်, [tɕaɪʔ... təkɜ̀ŋ]; officially titled Shwedagon Zedi Daw , also known in English as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a 99 metres gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Burma. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within, namely the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight strands of hair of Gautama, the historical Buddha. Uppatasanti Pagoda is a same-sized replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma. According to tradition, the Shwedagon Pagoda has existed for more than 2,500 years, making it the oldest historical pagoda in Burma and the world. According to tradition, two merchant brothers, Taphussa and Bhallika, from the land of Ramanya, met the Lord Gautama Buddha during his lifetime and received eight of the Buddha's hairs.
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The People's Square and Park is one of the major parks surrounding the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. Located west of the great pagoda to the... former Pyithu Hluttaw complex, the 135.72 acre park is bounded by Pyay Road to its west, U Wisara Road to its east, Dhammazedi Road to its north and Ahlone Road to its south. The area had been part of the palace grounds of Queen Shin Sawbu and later a golf course for some years during the colonial days. A little over half of the complex is the 70.3-acre People's Square. A flower- and tree-lined marble esplanade starting from Pyithu Hluttaw towards the Shwedagon Pagoda is the center piece of the square. Over a thousand trees and plants from 52 species make up the square. Pyidaungsu Ayeyeik Nyein occupies a corner of the Square and holds a permanent exhibition of dioramas of various Burmese ethnic groups, specimens of valuable timber and gemstones from various parts of the country. People's Park occupies 65.42 acres adjacent to the square in the north.
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Bogyoke Aung San Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, located in downtown Yangon, Myanmar. Named after Gen. Aung San, the 40,000 seat stadium is... still the largest stadium in Myanmar and was the national stadium until mid-1980s. The stadium was the main venue for 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Peninsular Games. While it is no longer the main venue of choice for international level competitions, the stadium is still heavily used for Myanmar National League football matches. Aung San National Indoor Stadium, located next to the outdoor stadium, is used for indoor sports competitions.
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The National Theatre of Yangon, located in Yangon, is a national theatre of Myanmar. The theatre is used for cultural exchange programs with foreign... countries, for departmental workshops, religious ceremonies, prize giving ceremonies, performing arts competitions, and for musical stage shows. The theater was constructed with aid from People's Republic of China. Construction began on 3 June 1987 and completed on 30 January 1991. Of the total cost of 215.47 million kyats, the Chinese government contributed 150 million kyats and the Burmese side contributed the remainder.
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Harry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor. Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom... Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and '70s. Corbett was regarded as one of Britain's first Method actors and early in his career he was dubbed "the English Marlon Brando" by some sections of the British press. Corbett was born in Rangoon, Burma. His father was a British Army officer stationed in the country as part of the Colonial defence forces. Corbett was sent back to England after his mother died when he was three, to be brought up by an aunt in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Corbett served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War, at one time engaged in hand to hand fighting in New Guinea, killing two Japanese soldiers. Posted to Tonga at the end of hostilities, he deserted and remained in Australia before handing himself in to the Military Police. On returning to civilian life, Corbett trained as a radiographer before taking up acting as a career, initially in repertory.
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James Jonathon Wilby is an English film, television and theatre actor. He was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was... educated at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, and from there went on to study for a degree in Mathematics at Grey College, University of Durham, and then at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Wilby's first appearance on screen was in the Oxford Film Company 1982 production Privileged alongside Hugh Grant. He is known to an international audience for roles in Maurice , for which he received Venice Film Festival's Best Actor award with co-star Hugh Grant. Then he starred in A Handful of Dust , Howards End and Gosford Park and Alain Robbe-Grillet's C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle co-starring Arielle Dombasle which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. On stage, he starred in the 1995 revival of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre. He is married to Shana Louise and has four children: Barnaby John Loxley, Florence Hannah Mary, Nathaniel Jerome and Jesse Jack.
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Maung Thura "Zarganar" is a popular Burmese comedian, film actor, and a film director as well as a fierce critic and often political prisoner of the... Burmese military government. Known for his wicked puns against the government who is a military junta, Zarganar, whose name translates to "tweezers", is widely considered to be the most popular comedian and satirist in Myanmar. In September 2006, Zarganar was banned indefinitely from performing publicly or participating in any kind of entertainment related work. He was arrested on 4 June 2008 for speaking to foreign media about the situation of millions of people left homeless after a cyclone devastated the Irrawaddy delta. In November 2008, he was sentenced to 59 years in prison, convicted of "public order offenses", under four sections of the criminal code—17/2, 32 , 295 and 505 , much more than the anticipated maximum of two years. On 16 February 2009, following the appeals by the family, Yangon Divisional Court reduced the prison sentence by "up to 24 years", bringing the sentence down to 35 years.
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Eindra Kyaw Zin is a Myanmar Academy Award winning film actress and TV commercial model. Kyaw Zin, an amateur painter, is one of the most successful... and recognized stars of the Burmese entertainment industry. She is best known for winning the 2004 Myanmar Academy Award as best actress in the film Flirtatious Sky . Eindra Kyaw Zin was born to a well-to-do family in Yangon. She is a granddaughter of Bo Zeya, one of the Thirty Comrades that founded the modern Burmese Army, a niece of Dagon Taya, a well-known writer, and a first cousin of singer Hayma Ne Win and singer and film star Yaza Ne Win. Kyaw Zin graduated from Yangon's elite Dagon 1 High School. In an interview with The Myanmar Times, Kyaw Zin admitted that film was not her initial choice of a career. Rather she envisioned herself as an independent artist or a doctor but had to reevaluate her options after getting sub-par grades in school. Her first foray into the entertainment industry came by way of a local beauty contest.
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Zaw Win Htut is a Burmese rock, country, and blues singer, and the lead vocalist of the band Emperor. Zaw Win Htut was born into a musical family in... Yangon, Myanmar. His father Kyi Khin was a physician, and his mother Tin Aye was a famous folk singer with the stage name Htar. His maternal grandfather was Shwe Taing Nyunt, a famous songwriter of classical Burmese music. His nickname was Nyi Htut. He received a bachelor's degree in English from Yangon University. Zaw Win Htut began his career in music as a drummer in a band called Oasis. He formed his own band, Emperor, in the 1980s with five members, Zaw Myo Htut , Cin Khan Pun , Wai Tun , Maung Maung Lwin , John O'Hara . He was strictly a country, rock and roll singer in his early career. His first album, released in 1983, was not a success. His third album Hlyatsit Moe Kaungkin, released in 1989, made him a star.
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Kyaw Thu is a two-time Myanmar Academy Award winning film actor and film director. One of the top leading men of Burmese cinema in the 1980s and... 1990s, Kyaw Thu continues to star in films and has directed several successful films. Since the early 2000s, Kyaw Thu has devoted much time to do social work for the poor, and in the process has gradually emerged as a vocal critic of the Burmese military government. Kyaw Thu was born Kyaw Win to Daw Mya Than and U Sein Tin in Yangon. He attended Yangon University but dropped out of school in the final year to pursue a career in films. He met his future wife Myint Myint Khin Pe in 1978 when they were both attending university at Hlaing Campus. Kyaw Thu made his film debut in 1984, and has starred in over 200 films and directed six films in a career spanning over two decades. In the 1980s and 1990s Kyaw Thu was one of the most successful leading men in Burmese cinema. Kyaw Thu won the 1994 Myanmar Academy Award for Best Actor in Da-Byi-Thu Ma Shwe Hta .
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