Shweli River

Shweli River (Burmese: ရွှေလီမြစ်; Chinese: 瑞丽江) is a river in China and Myanmar (Burma), also known as the Nam Mao (Shan: ၼမ်ႉမၢဝ်း; Tai Nüa: ᥘᥛᥳ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ) in Shan or Dai, and Ruili River in Chinese. The middle and upper reaches of the river are called the Longchuan River (龙川江) or Long River (龙江) in Chinese, or the Nam Yang (Tai Nüa: ᥘᥛᥳ ᥕᥣᥒᥰ) in Dai. The river forms 26 km of the boundary between Burma and China, and it is one of the tributaries of Myanmar's chief river, the Ayeyarwady, and originates in Yunnan Province of China. It flows through northern Shan state and Sagaing Division, and enters the Ayeyarwady at Inywa, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Tagaung and south of Katha.

History

Dai people, known as Shan in Burma, migrated from Yunnan into Burma along the Shweli. Maw Shans from Mong Mao settled in the Shweli valley, and raided and invaded the Bamar heartlands down the Shweli, some people believe that King Anawrahta of Bagan (1044–1077) reduced Mong Mao to a vassal state. But the event is that when the Anawrahta visited Nanzhao in quest of the Buddha's tooth while returning, married Sao-Môn-la, a daughter of the Mong Mao king. But there is nothing to show that the Mong Mao king ever had to acknowledge the overlordship of the Pagan monarch. The fall of the kingdom of Bagan in the 13th century, however, saw a resurgence of Shan power, although King Bayinnaung (1551–1581) of the Taungoo Dynasty succeeded in pacifying them to establish Burmese suzerainty once and for all. King Hsinbyushin (1763–1776) of the Konbaung Dynasty also successfully resisted Chinese army in Sino-Burmese War (1765-9) that advanced down the Shweli and Myitnge river valleys.