Moulmein. Moulmein (61,301)[1], a port of some note, is the oldest British town in Burma, having been established as divisional headquarters in 1827. Situated on the Salween, twenty-eight miles from the sea, within sight of the junction of that river with the Gyaing and Ataran, it commands views of romantic beauty, unsurpassed for picturesque effect[2]. On the ridge above the town are two famous pagodas, Kyaikthanlan (875 A.D.), Uzima or Kyaikpadaw, said to have been built by Asoka. These are celebrated not only for their sanctity but also for the incomparable landscape spread out beneath them. Near Moulmein are well-known caves, haunted by innumerable bats. Commercially and economically, except as the depot of a large timber trade, Moulmein is not of great importance.
Bassein. Bassein (42,503), known to early writers sometimes as Cosmin, sometimes as Persaim, on both sides of the Bassein river, some 60 miles from the sea, is a flourishing port. It was early the seat of a British commercial factory. A centre of the rice trade of the Irrawaddy Delta, it has many rice mills. Bassein is connected with Rangoon by rail, the Irrawaddy being crossed by a ferry at Henzada; and also by a line of river steamers plying through the creeks.
Akyab. Akyab (36,569), the fourth port, is the chief town, and the only town of any size, in the Arakan Division. Built on an island in the Bay of Bengal, in very picturesque surroundings, with an excellent harbour, it is a place of note. Its importance will be greatly enhanced when, in due course, it is connected with India by rail.
Prome. Prome (26,067) stands on the Irrawaddy 161 miles from Rangoon, the northern terminus of the first railway built in Burma. Before the annexation of Upper Burma it was a station on the quickest route to Mandalay. In mediaeval times the capital of a kingdom and the scene of many conflicts, it is now only an ordinary provincial
