Mandalay, the capital of Upper Burma, is located 600 km north of Yangon, on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River. As the second largest city in Myanmar, Mandalay has slightly over 800,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Upper Burma that was immortalized in Rudyard Kipling's The Road to Mandalay, the 1887 poem that refers to the Ayeyarwady. In a country where the cities are a thousand years old or more, Mandalay is surprisingly young in comparison - "just" over 150 years old.
Mandalay Hill offers scenic views of Mandalay City spread out below it.
Mandalay was founded by King Mindom in 1857. He did so to fulfill an ancient Buddhist prophecy (and as often happens with monarchs, to his own glory). There was a legend that Gautama Buddha visited Mandalay Hill with his disciple Ananda, and proclaimed that 2400 years after his death, a great city for Buddhist teaching will be founded at the foot of the hill.
The ever pious Mindon thought he could achieve enlightenment by making true of that prophecy. So, in 1861, Mindon disposed of his half-brother Pagan Min as the Konbaung king. Taking over the throne, he moved his capital - literally uprooting most of his palace as well as 150,000 of his subjects - from Amarapura 20 km away, and move them to Mandalay. Here, he built his Royal Palace at the foot of Mandalay Hill and worked towards realising the "Golden City" of Buddhist teachings.
King Mindon's dream, unfortunately, came to a fast ending after he died in 1878. Taking over the reign was the tyrannic King Thibaw and his imperious wife Supyalat. During their terror reign, they liquidated many of their own friends and relatives to prevent any challenge to their rule. There was a smallpox epidemic. On the advise of astrologers, they had many of their own subjects and foreigners killed. Their excesses resulted in an invasion by the British, and they occupied Upper Burma in 1885.
Mandalay, with all its beautiful palaces, became known by the now unknown name of Fort Dufferin.
Atumashi Kyaung Monastery
Kuthodaw Pagoda
Maha Myat Muni Paya
Mandalay Hill
Mandalay Royal Palace
Shwenandaw Kyaung Monastery
Places of interest in the vicinity of Mandalay
Amarapura
U Bein Bridge, Amarapura
Mahagandhayon Monastery, Amarapura
Ayeyarwady River
Inwa Bridge
Mingun
Mantara Gyi Pagoda
Mingun Bell
Mya Theindan Pagoda
Sagaing
Exploring the places of interest in Myanmar
Let AsiaExplorers take you to the many wonderful sights in Myanmar. The sights are grouped according to cities, so that you can use this guide when you explore them in person. Click enter to view.
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