Yangon Region the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country’s legal imports and exports go through Thanlyin's Thilawa port, the largest and busiest port in Myanmar. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, employing thousands of workers. Outside Greater Yangon, rice farming remains predominant. Other important crops include jute, pulses, rubber, sugarcane, and groundnut. Yangon Region has the best transportation infrastructure in the country. All transport to and from the rest of the country (and the world) goes through Yangon. Five "highways" link Yangon to the rest of the country. (To be sure, the
Yangon spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East." By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London. Before World War II, about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman). Karens, the Chinese, the Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest. After World War I, Yangon became the epicentre of Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against the British Empire in