Yankin Township (Burmese: ရန်ကင်း မြို့နယ်, ) is located in the north-central part of Yangon. The township comprises 15 wards, and shares borders with Mayangon township in the north, Thingangyun township and South Okkalapa township in the east, the Inya Lake, Bahan township and Mayangon township in the west, and Tamwe township in the south. The township has 13 primary schools, seven middle schools and two high schools.
Yankin is a thriving commercial hub of Yangon. Yankin Centre is a leading shopping destination in Yangon, attracting shoppers from around the city. Saya San Road is the main thoroughfare that runs through most of the important places in the township. The Kokkine Swimming Pools, and the 18-hectare (44.5-acre) Myakyuntha Amusement Park are both located here. In 2008, the National Library of Myanmar moved to a new site in Yankin Township. In 2011, a new children's hospital opened in the township, occupying the site of an old Ministry of Mining building.
Yankin is a mix of upscale and middle class area with a multi-ethnic character. The township has a large Tamil community, and a rich collection of Hindu temples, (most of which are dedicated to Kali and Ganesh) as well as a large Chinese temple called Fushan Si Temple, believed to be the largest in Yangon.
The Mogaung Pagoda is the principal pagoda of the area, and the annual Mogaung Pagoda Festival attracts a number of people from around the city.
Famous quotes containing the word township:
“The most interesting thing which I heard of, in this township of Hull, was an unfailing spring, whose locality was pointed out to me on the side of a distant hill, as I was panting along the shore, though I did not visit it. Perhaps, if I should go through Rome, it would be some spring on the Capitoline Hill I should remember the longest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)