Attractions in Mandalay

MANDALAY	Was the last capital of Myanmar before the British took over so it still has great importance as a cultural center and historically it's the most Burmese of the country's large cities. Mandalay's Buddhist monasteries are among the most important in the country - about 60% of all the monks in Myanmar reside in the Mandalay area. The city takes its name from Mandalay Hill, the 236m-high bluff that rises just to the northeast of Mandalay Fort and its royal palace.
AVA BRIDGE	This British-engineered, 16-span bridge dates from 1934 and was the only structure that crossed the Ayeyarwady River until 1998 when a new Chinese-engineered bridge was completed at Pyay.
BAGAYA KYAUNG	A monastery built of teakwood and supported by 267 teak posts. The main hall stands on a raised platform, separate from the monks’ quarters, and is designed so that space between the walls and roof allows air to circulate.
HSINBYUME PAYA	Built by King Bagyidaw in 1816, three years before he succeeded Bodawpaya as king, this stupa was constructed in memory of his senior wife, the Hsinbyume princess.
INWA	This ancient city, for a long time a capital of Upper Burma after the fall of Bagan, is on the Mandalay side of the Ayeyarwady River close to the Ava Bridge. From 1364 Inwa was the capital of the Burmese kingdom for more than 400 years, until the shift was made to Amarapura in 1783.
KUTHODAW PAYA	The central stupa here was modeled on the Shwezigon Paya at Nyaung U near Bagan. Building commenced in 1857, at the same time as the royal palace. The paya has been dubbed 'the world's biggest book', for standing around the central stupa are 729 marble slabs on which are inscribed the entire Tripitaka.
KYAUKTAWGYI PAGODA	Built between 1853 and 1878 and chiefly interesting for the huge seated image of the Buddha carved from a single block of marble. The marble block from the mines of nearby Sagyin was so colossal that it required 10,000 men laboring for 13 days to transport it from a canal to the current site.
MAHA AUNGMYE BONZAN	A brick-and-stucco monastery built by King Bagyidaw's chief queen for the royal abbot Nyaunggan Sayadaw in 1818.
MAHAMUNI PAYA	Location of the paya, which sits at the northeastern corner of the old Dhanyawady city site. This was the original site for Mandalay's famous Mahamuni Buddha, a huge and very old bronze image, which Rakhaing kings believed provided supernatural protection for their successive kingdoms.
MANDALAY FORT	Imposing walled palace compound constructed in 1857 with a channel from the Mandalay irrigation canal filling the moat. After the British occupied the city in 1885 the compound was named Fort Dufferin and became the colony's government house and British Club.
MANDALAY HILL	An easy climb up the sheltered steps bring one to a panoramic view over the palace, Mandalay and the paya-studded countryside. The famous hermit monk, U Khanti, is credited with inspiring the construction of many of the buildings on and around the hill in the years after the founding of the city.
MANDALAY MUSEUM & LIBRARY	Museum and library containing a collection of Mandalay regalia, royally commissioned art and palm-leaf manuscripts that were formerly housed in the palace. Most of the articles date from the reigns of the last two Mandalay kings.
MINGUN PAYA	Thousands of slaves and prisoners of war labored to build the massive stupa, beginning in 1790. Work halted in 1819 when Bodawpaya died, leaving a brick base about a third of its intended height. The earthquake of 1938 damaged the stupa but there is still a lot to see.
NANMYIN	The 27 meter high masonry watchtower is all that remains of the palace built by Bagyidaw. The 1838 earthquake shattered the upper portion and the rest has taken a precarious tilt.
PONDAW PAYA	5 meter high working model of Mingun Paya. It gives a clear picture of just what Bodawpaya intended to achieve with Mingun Paya.
SANDAMANI PAYA	A cluster of slender whitewashed stupas built on the site of King Mindon's temporary palace - used while the new Mandalay Palace was under construction. The Paya enshrines an iron image of the Buddha cast in 1802 by Bodawpaya and transported here from Amarapura in 1874.
SHWE IN BIN	Kyaung Shwe In Bin: A Chinese merchant, U Set Shwin, married a local Burmese lady and with his newly acquired fortune built a monastery for his religious wife. It is built of teak, has Burmese carved doors and paintings depicting General Prendergast negotiating with court ministers prior to King Thibaw's exile.
SHWEKYIMYINT PAYA	Founded in 1167 by Prince Minshinzaw during the Bagan period. He was the exiled son of King Alaungsithu and settled near the present site of Mandalay. The shrine is notable because it contains the original Buddha image consecrated by the prince.
SHWENANDAW KYAUNG	Monastery of great interest, not only as a fine example of a traditional Burmese wooden monastery, but also as a fragile reminder of the old Mandalay Fort. At one time this building was part of the palace complex, and was used as an apartment by King Mindon and his chief queen, and it was here that he died. After Mindon's death King Thibaw Min had the building dismantled and reassembled on its present site in 1880 as a monastery.