Bago

City in southern Myanmar on the River Pegu, 76 km/47 mi northeast of Yangon; population (2001 est) 223,700. It was founded in 573 and was once an important seaport, but was destroyed in 1757 by the Burmese. It now lies on the Yangon–Mandalay railway. Bago has many rice and saw mills, as it is surrounded by an area of rice production and the forested slopes of the Pegu Yoma. It has long been a centre of Buddhist culture.

It is the site of the celebrated Shwemawdaw pagoda, 99 m/324 ft high and said to have been built nearly 2,500 years ago, and to contain two of the Buddha's hairs; to the west is the Shwethalyaung, a statue of the Reclining Buddha, 55 m/181 ft long, which is said to date from 994.

The pagoda was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1930 and was rebuilt after World War II.

Bago

Division of lower Myanmar, lying to the east of the Irrawaddy River; area 38,948 sq km/ 15,038 sq mi; population (1994 est) 4,607,000. The capital is Bago. There is a large irrigation scheme that serves intensive agriculture. Industries include steel production.

Bago

River of lower Myanmar; length 290 km/180 mi. Rising in the Bago Yoma mountain range, it flows south past the town of Bago (formerly Pegu) to join the Yangon (Rangoon) River. It is also linked to the Sittoung (or Sittang) River by canal.