Pyin Oo Lwin, formerly Maymyo, is a cool hill station in Myanmar’s Shan Highlands, established by the British as their summer capital to escape the lowland heat, retaining a distinct colonial past with English-style manors, gardens, and its iconic Purcell Tower. Originally a small Shan village, it became a military outpost and then a major retreat, developing a unique Anglo-Burmese culture, with its architecture and layout still reflecting its 19th-century origins, even after the name change in the post-colonial era.
