How to pronounce Ceylon

xī lán

Ceylon generally refers to Sri Lanka. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, referred to as Sri Lanka, with its capital Colombo, is an island country located in the Indian Ocean south of the South Asian subcontinent, facing India across the Palk Strait to the northwest.

It has a tropical monsoon climate, close to the equator, and it is like summer all year round, with no four seasons. The terrain is high in the middle and surrounded by low coastal plains. It is rich in agriculture, forestry, fishery and water resources. With a total area of ??65,610 square kilometers, the country is divided into 9 provinces and 25 districts.

As of 2021, Sri Lanka’s total population is 21.29 million. The Sinhala, Tamil, and Moorish ethnic groups are the three main ethnic groups. Most of the residents believe in Buddhism.

2,500 years ago, Aryans from North India immigrated to the island of Ceylon and established the Sinhala dynasty.

In 247 BC, King Asoka of the Mauryan Dynasty of India sent his son to the island to promote Buddhism. Since then, the Sinhalese people abandoned Brahmanism and converted to Buddhism. Around the 2nd century BC, the Tamils ??from South India also began to migrate and settle on the island of Ceylon.

From the 5th century to the 16th century, there were constant wars between the Sinhala Kingdom and the Tamil Kingdom on the island. Since the 16th century, it has been ruled by the Portuguese and the Dutch.

It became a British colony at the end of the 18th century. It gained independence in February 1948 and named the country Ceylon. On May 22, 1972, it was renamed the Republic of Sri Lanka. On August 16, 1978, the name of the country was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.