Pyay, formerly known by its anglicised name Prome, is the principal town of Pyay Township located in the Bago Region of Myanmar. Situated on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, the city lies approximately 260 km (160 mi) northwest of Yangon.
The current town was established in the late 19th century by the British Irrawaddy Flotilla Company to serve as a transshipment point for cargo moving between Upper and Lower Burma. It serves as an important trade center connecting the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar, and the Rakhine (Arakan) State. Additionally, Pyay is the terminus of the Yangon-Pyay Railway, which was the first railway line opened in Myanmar on May 1, 1877.
The city holds historical significance as the site where Rear Admiral Charles Austen, brother of novelist Jane Austen, died in 1852. It is also the location of a mausoleum built to honor Shin Raṭṭhasāra, a prominent classical poet and Buddhist monk from the Kingdom of Ava who passed away there in 1529.