PROME  , the

chief town of the district, is situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy, 161 m . N. of Rangoon, population (1901), 27,375 . To the south and south-east the town is closed in by low pagoda-topped hills, on one of which stands the conspicuous gilded Shwe Tsan-daw . The town was taken by the British in 1825 and again in 1852, on both occasions with hardly any opposition . In 1862 it was almost entirely destroyed by fire, and was afterwards relaid out in straight and broad streets . It was erected into a municipality in 1874, and since then great improvements have been made, including waterworks . Its principal manufactures are silk cloths and lacquer ware . It is the terminus of a railway from Rangoon, which runs through the district . The other chief towns in the district are Shwedaung (pop . 10,787) and Paungde (pop . 11,105) .