Travel Guide : Travel Information for Mandalay City, upper Myanmar Myanmar news Mandalay History Mandalay is the last royal capital of Burma and located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River. Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan Province, in the past twenty years, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Nay Pyi Daw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health centre. On 13 February 1857, King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill. The city site was 25.5 square miles (66 km�) in area, surrounded by four rivers. The plan called for a 144-square block grid patterned citadel, anchored by a 16 square block royal palace compound at the centre by Mandalay Hill.

The 1020-acre (413-hectare) citadel was surrounded by four 6,666 feet (2,032 m) long walls and a moat 210 ft (64 m) wide, 15 ft (4.6 m) deep. At intervals of 555 ft (169 m) along the wall, were turrets with gold-tipped spires for watchmen. The walls had three gates on each side, and five bridges to cross the moat. In addition, the king also commissioned the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein higher ordination hall, the Thudhamma Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the library for the Buddhist scriptures. In June 1857, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill although construction of the palace compound was officially completed only two years later, on Monday, 23 May 1859.

For the next 26 years, Mandalay was to be the last royal capital of the last independent Burmese kingdom before its final annexation by the British. Mandalay ceased to be the capital on 28 November 1885 when the conquering British sent King Thibaw and his queen Supayalat into exile, ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War. While Mandalay would continue to be the chief city of Upper Burma during the British colonial rule, the commercial and political importance had irreversibly shifted to Yangon. The British view on the development of Mandalay (and Burma) was mainly with commercial intentions. While rail transport reached Mandalay in 1889, less than four years after the annexation, the first college in Mandalay, Mandalay College, was not established until 40 years later, in 1925. The British looted the palace, with some of the treasures still on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, also renaming the palace compound Fort Dufferin and used it to billet troops.

Throughout the colonial years, Mandalay was the centre of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning, and as the last royal capital, was regarded by the Burmese as a primary symbol of sovereignty and identity. Between the two World Wars, the city was Upper Burma's focal point in a series of nationwide protests against the British rule. The British rule brought in many immigrants from India to the city. In 1904�05, a plague caused about one-third of the population to flee the city. Many again fled the city during World War II when the city was under Japanese occupation from May 1942 to March 1945. The city suffered heavy damage. The palace citadel, turned into a supply depot by the Japanese, was burnt to the ground by Allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. (A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s.) After the country gained independence from Britain in 1948, Mandalay continued to be the main cultural, educational and economic hub of Upper Burma. Until the early 1990s, most students from Upper Burma went to Mandalay for university education.

Until 1991, Mandalay University, the University of Medicine, Mandalay and the Defense Services Academy were the only three universities in Upper Burma. Only a few other cities had "Degree Colleges" affiliated with Mandalay University that offered a limited number of subjects. Today, the city attracts a fraction of students as the military government requires students to attend their local universities in order to reduce concentration of students in one place. In November 1959, Mandalay celebrated its centennial with a festival at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Special commemorative stamps were issued. During General Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962�1988), the city's infrastructure deteriorated. By the early 1980s, the second largest city of Burma resembled a town with low-rise buildings and dusty streets filled mostly with bicycles. In the 1980s, the city was hit by two major fires. In May 1981, a fire razed more than 6,000 houses and public buildings, leaving more than 36,000 homeless.

On 24 March 1984, another fire destroyed 2,700 buildings and made 23,000 people homeless. Fires continue to plague the city. A major fire destroyed Mandalay's second largest market, Yadanabon Market, in February 2008, and another major fire in February 2009 destroyed 320 homes and left over 1600 people homeless. The 1980s fires augured a significant change in the city's physical character and ethnic makeup. Huge swaths of land left vacant by the fires were later purchased, mostly by the ethnic Chinese, many of whom were recent immigrants from Yunnan. The Chinese influx accelerated after the current military government came to power in 1988. With the Burmese government turning a blind eye, many Chinese immigrants from Yunnan (and also from Sichuan) poured into Upper Burma in the 1990s and many openly ended up in Mandalay. In the 1990s alone, about 250,000 to 300,000 Yunnanese are estimated to have migrated to Mandalay.

Today, the Chinese are believed to make up about 30%�40% of the city's population, and are a major factor in the city's doubling of population from about 500,000 in 1980 to one million in 2008. Chinese festivals are now firmly embedded in the city�s cultural calendar. It is a common Burmese complaint that Mandalay is becoming little more than a satellite of China and that the romance of old Mandalay is long gone. The Chinese are largely responsible for the economic revitalization of the downtown, now rebuilt with apartment blocks, hotels and shopping malls, and returning the city to its role as the trading hub connecting Lower Burma, Upper Burma, China and India. The Chinese dominance in the city centre has pushed out the rest to the suburbs. The urban sprawl now encompasses Amarapura, the very city King Mindon left some 150 years ago. Mandalay celebrated its 150th birthday on 15 May 2009, precisely at 4:31:36 am.

Despite the rise of Naypyidaw, the country's capital since 2006, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health centre. © 2011 Mandalay City. All Rights Reserved. Mandalay | Journeys International Journeys International Mandalay Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma (Myanmar). Located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region. Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan Province, in the past twenty years, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health centre. The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. The name is likely a derivative of a Pali word although the exact word of origin remains unclear.

The root word has been speculated as: "Mandala" (meaning, circular plains), "Mandare" (believed to mean "auspicious land"),[8] or "Mandara" (a mountain from Hindu mythology). Like most former (and present) capitals of Burma, Mandalay was founded on the wishes of the ruler of the day. On 13 February 1857, King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill, ostensibly to fulfill a prophecy on the founding of a metropolis of Buddhism in that exact place on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism. The new capital city site was 25.5 square miles (66 km²) in area, surrounded by four rivers. The plan called for a 144-square block grid patterned citadel, anchored by a 16 square block royal palace compound at the center by Mandalay Hill.

The 1020-acre (413-hectare) citadel was surrounded by four 6,666 feet (2,032 m) long walls and a moat 210 ft (64 m) wide, 15 ft (4.6 m) deep. At intervals of 555 ft (169 m) along the wall, were turrets with gold-tipped spires for watchmen. The walls had three gates on each side, and five bridges to cross the moat. In addition, the king also commissioned the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein higher ordination hall, the Thudhamma Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the library for the Buddhist scriptures. In June 1857, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill although construction of the palace compound was officially completed only two years later, on Monday, 23 May 1859.

For the next 26 years, Mandalay was to be the last royal capital of the last independent Burmese kingdom before its final annexation by the British. Mandalay ceased to be the capital on 28 November 1885 when the conquering British sent King Thibaw and his queen Supayalat to exile, ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War. While Mandalay would continue to be the chief city of Upper Burma during the British colonial rule, the commercial and political importance had irreversibly shifted to Yangon. The British view on the development of Mandalay (and Burma) was mainly with commercial intentions. While rail transport reached Mandalay in 1889, less than four years after the annexation, the first college in Mandalay, Mandalay College, was not established until 40 years later, in 1925. The British looted the palace, with some of the treasures still on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, also renaming the palace compound Fort Dufferin and used it to billet troops.

Throughout the colonial years, Mandalay was the centre of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning, and as the last royal capital, was regarded by the Burmese as a primary symbol of sovereignty and identity. Between the two World Wars, the city was Upper Burma's focal point in a series of nationwide protests against the British rule. The British rule brought in many immigrants from India to the city. In 1904–05, a plague caused about one-third of the population to flee the city. Many again fled the city during World War II when the city was under Japanese occupation from May 1942 to March 1945. The city suffered heavy damage. The palace citadel, turned into a supply depot by the Japanese, was burnt to the ground by Allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. (A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s.) After the country gained independence from Britain in 1948, Mandalay continued to be the main cultural, educational and economic hub of Upper Burma. Until the early 1990s, most students from Upper Burma went to Mandalay for university education.

Until 1991, Mandalay University, the University of Medicine, Mandalay and the Defence Services Academy were the only three universities in Upper Burma. Only a few other cities had "Degree Colleges" affiliated with Mandalay University that offered a limited number of subjects. Today, the city attracts a fraction of students as the military government requires students to attend their local universities in order to reduce concentration of students in one place. In November 1959, Mandalay celebrated its centennial with a festival at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Special commemorative stamps were issued. During Gen. Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–1988), the city's infrastructure deteriorated. By the early 1980s, the second largest city of Burma resembled a town with low-rise buildings and dusty streets filled mostly with bicycles. In the 1980s, the city was hit by two major fires. In May 1981, a fire razed more than 6,000 houses and public buildings, leaving more than 36,000 homeless.

On 24 March 1984, another fire destroyed 2,700 buildings and made 23,000 people homeless. Fires continue to plague the city. A major fire destroyed Mandalay's second largest market, Yadanabon Market, in February 2008, and another major fire in February 2009 destroyed 320 homes and left over 1600 people homeless. The 1980s fires augured a significant change in the city's physical character and ethnic makeup. Huge swaths of land left vacant by the fires were later purchased, mostly by the ethnic Chinese, many of whom were recent immigrants from Yunnan. The Chinese influx accelerated after the current military government came to power in 1988. With the Burmese government turning a blind eye, many Chinese immigrants from Yunnan (and also from Sichuan) poured into Upper Burma in the 1990s and many openly ended up in Mandalay. In the 1990s alone, about 250,000 to 300,000 Yunnanese are estimated to have migrated to Mandalay.

Today, the Chinese are believed to make up about 30%–40% of the city's population, and are a major factor in the city's doubling of population from about 500,000 in 1980 to one million in 2008. Chinese festivals are now firmly embedded in the city’s cultural calendar. It is a common Burmese complaint that Mandalay is becoming little more than a satellite of China and that the romance of old Mandalay is long gone. The Chinese are largely responsible for the economic revitalization of the downtown, now rebuilt with apartment blocks, hotels and shopping malls, and returning the city to its role as the trading hub connecting Lower Burma, Upper Burma, China and India. The Chinese dominance in the city centre has pushed out the rest to the suburbs. The urban sprawl now encompasses Amarapura, the very city King Mindon left some 150 years ago. Mandalay celebrated its 150th birthday on 15 May 2009, precisely at 4:31:36 am.

Despite the rise of Naypyidaw, the country's capital since 2006, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health centre. Information based on Sri Lanka HISTORY Yangon Yangon was founded as Dagon in the 6th century AD by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centered about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, and renamed it "Yangon". The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826) but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841. The British Empire seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River.

By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University. Colonial Yangon, with its 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, almost half of Yangon's population was Indian or South Asian. Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the city's name was changed to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thuwana and Okkalapa in the 1950s to Dagon Myothit (New Dagon) in the 1990s.

Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 400 square miles (1000 sqkm). In November 2005, the military government designated the newly developed city of Naypyidaw, 200 miles (322 km) north in Mandalay Division as the new administrative capital. The motives for the move remain unclear. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial center of Burma. Bagan The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 16 square miles. The majority of its buildings were built in the 1000s to 1200s, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire. It was not until King Pyinbya moved the capital to Bagan in AD 874 that it became a major city. However, in Burmese tradition, the capital shifted with each reign, and thus Bagan was once again abandoned until the reign of Anawrahta.

In 1057, King Anawrahta conquered the Mon capital of Thaton, and brought back the Tripitaka Pali scriptures, Buddhist monks and craftsmen and all of these were made good use of in order to transform Bagan into a religious and cultural centre. With the help of a monk from Lower Burma, Anawrahta made Theravada Buddhism a kind of state religion, and the king also established contacts with Sri Lanka. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Bagan became a truly cosmopolitan centre of Buddhist studies, attracting monks and students from as far as India, Sri Lanka as well as the Thai and Khmer kingdoms. In 1287, the kingdom fell to the Mongols, after refusing to pay tribute to Kublai Khan. Abandoned by the Burmese king and perhaps sacked by the Mongols, the city declined as a political centre, but continued to flourish as a place of Buddhist scholarship.

Mandalay Founded in 1857 by King Mindon Mandalay was the last capital (1860–1885) of the last independent Burmese Kingdom before annexation by the British after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. Unlike other Burmese towns, Mandalay did not grow from a smaller settlement, although a small village Hti Baunga did exist nearby. Mandalay was set up in an empty area at the foot of 775 ft high (236 m) Mandalay Hill according to a prophecy made by the Buddha that in that exact place a great city, a metropolis of Buddhism, would come into existence on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism. King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on January 13, 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the Throne was celebrated in July 1858 and the former royal city of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill.

With the ground-breaking ceremony, King Mindon laid the foundation of Mandalay on the 6th waning day of Kason, Burmese Era 1219 (1857). The King simultaneously laid the foundations of seven edifices: the royal city with the battlemented walls, the moat surrounding it, the Maha Lawka Marazein Stupa (Kuthodaw Pagoda), the higher ordination hall named the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein, the Atumashi (Incomparable) monastery, the Thudhama Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the libThe whole royal city was called Lei Kyun Aung Myei (Victorious Land over the Four Islands) and the royal palace, Mya Nan San Kyaw (The Famed Royal Emerald Palace). The new royal capital was called Yadanabon Naypyidaw, the Burmese version of its Pali name Ratanapura which means "The City of Gems".

It then became Mandalay after the hill; the name is a derivative of the Pali word "Mandala", which means "a plains land" - Mandalay is said to be as flat as the face of a drum - and also of the Pali word "Mandare", which means "an auspicious land." Mandalay was captured by the British during the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885). Reigning King Thibaw and his queen, Supayalat, were forced to evacuate the palace and eventually exiled to India. Renamed Fort Dufferin, the palace was used to quarter British and Indian troops and many of its fabulous treasures were looted. Some of the best pieces were sent back to Great Britain and can still be see in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mandalay suffered heavy damage during World War II. The Japanese captured Mandalay on 2 May 1942, and turned the fort that contained the palace, into a supply depot. The fort was heavily bombed by the British prior to their liberation of the city in March 1945.

The palace was burnt down to the ground and only the masonry plinth of the palace complex with a couple of masonry structures such as the royal mint and the hour drum tower remained. A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s. After Burma's independence from Britain in 1948, the city became the capital of Mandalay Division. Third Anglo-Burmese War : Wikis (The Full Wiki) The Full Wiki More info on Third Anglo-Burmese War Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Third Anglo-Burmese War The nominal surrender of the Burmese Army, 27 November 1885, at Ava. Date Burma–India Result British victory, end of the Konbaung Dynasty in Upper Burma .

The province of Burma becomes part of the British Raj Belligerents Kingdom of Burma Commanders Harry Prendergast Thibaw Min The Third Anglo-Burmese War, also known as the Third Burmese War, was a conflict that took place mainly during the winter of 1885, with sporadic resistance and insurgency continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the British Empire . The war saw the the loss of sovereignty of an independent Burma under the Konbaung Dynasty , whose rule had already been reduced to the territory known as Upper Burma . The Lower Burma region had been annexed by the British in 1853, as a result of the Second Anglo-Burmese War . Following the war, Burma would become part of the British Raj as a province of British India . From 1937, British rule in Burma would be altered as Burma became a separate colony under British rule. Burma would eventually achieve independence as a republic in 1948.

Contents 6 External links Background Photograph of King Thibaw, Queen Supayalat and Princess Supayaji, taken by an unknown photographer and made from a negative found in the Royal Palace, Mandalay, late November 1885 Following a succession crisis in Burma in 1879, the British Resident in Burma was withdrawn, ending official diplomatic relations between the countries. The British considered a new war in response but other ongoing wars in Africa and Afghanistan led them to reject a war at that time. During the 1880s, the British became concerned about contacts between Burma and France. Wars in Indochina had brought the French to the borders of Burma. In May 1883, a high-level Burmese delegation left for Europe. Officially it was to gather industrial knowledge, but it soon made its way to Paris where it began negotiations with the French Foreign Minister Jules Ferry . Ferry eventually admitted to the British ambassador that the Burmese were attempting to negotiate a political alliance along with a purchase of military equipment. The British were troubled by the Burmese action and relations worsened between the two countries.

During the discussions between the French and Burmese in Paris, a boundary dispute on the frontier of India and Burma broke out. In 1881, the British authorities in India appointed a commission to unilaterally mark out the border between the two countries. In the course of its work, the commission began demanding the Burmese authorities in villages determined by the British to be on their side of the line should withdraw. The Burmese objected continuously, but eventually backed down. Minhla, after its capture by the British, mid-November 1885, showing death and devastation. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). In 1885, the French consul M. Hass moved to Mandalay . He negotiated the establishment of a French Bank in Burma, a concession for a railway from Mandalay to the northern border of British Burma and a French role in running monopolies controlled by the Burmese government. The British reacted with diplomatic force and convinced the French government to recall Haas who was removed allegedly "for reasons of health".

While the French had backed down in Burma, the French actions as well as many other events convinced the British to take action against Burma. A fine was imposed on the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation for under-reporting its extractions of teak from Toungoo and not paying its employees. The company was fined by a Burmese court, and some of its timber was seized by the Burmese officials. The company and the British government claimed the charges were false and the Burmese courts were corrupt. The British demanded the Burmese government accept a British-appointed arbitrator to settle the dispute. When the Burmese refused, the British issued an ultimatum on 22 October 1885. The ultimatum demanded that the Burmese accept a new British resident in Mandalay, that any legal action or fines against the Company be suspended until the arrival of the resident, that Burma submit to British control of its foreign relations and that Burma should provide the British with commercial facilities for the development of trade between northern Burma and China. The acceptance of the ultimatum would have ended any real Burmese independence and reduced the country to something similar to the nominally-autonomous 'princely' puppet states of British India.

By 9 November, a practical refusal of the terms having been received at Rangoon , the occupation of Mandalay and the dethronement of the Burmese king Thibaw Min were determined upon. It can also be assumed that the annexation of the Burmese kingdom had been decided. The war Photograph of one of King Thibaw's steamers on the Irrawaddy, 26 November 1885. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). At this time, beyond the fact that the country was one of dense jungle, and therefore most unfavourable for military operations, the British knew little of the interior of Upper Burma; but British steamers had for years been running on the great river highway of the Irrawaddy River , from Rangoon to Mandalay, and it was obvious that the quickest and most satisfactory method of carrying out the British campaign was an advance by water direct on the capital.

Further, a large number of light-draught river steamers and barges (or flats), belonging to the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company , were available at Rangoon, and the local knowledge of the company's officers of the difficult river navigation was at the disposal of the British forces. Major-General, after wards Sir, Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast was placed in command of the invasion. As was only to be expected in an enterprise of this description, the navy as well as the army was called in requisition; and as usual the services rendered by the seamen and guns were most important. The total effective of the force was 9,034 fighting men, 2,810 native followers and 67 guns, and for river service, 24 machine guns. The river fleet which conveyed the troops and stores was composed more than 55 steamers, barges, launches, etc. Thayetmyo was the British post on the river nearest to the frontier, and here, by 14 November, five days after Thibaw's answer had been received, practically the whole expedition was assembled. On the same day General Prendergast received instructions to commence operations.

The Burmese king and his country were taken completely by surprise by the rapidity of the advance. There had been no time for them to collect and organize any resistance. They had not even been able to block the river by sinking steamers, etc, across it, for, on the very day of the receipt of orders to advance, the armed steamers, the Irrawaddy and the Kathleen, engaged the nearest Burmese batteries, and brought out from under their guns the Burmese King's steamer and some barges which were lying in readiness for this very purpose. On the 16th the batteries themselves on both banks were taken by a land attack, the Burmese being evidently unprepared and making no resistance. On 17 November, however, at Minhla, on the right bank of the river, the Burmese in considerable force held successively a barricade, a pagoda and the redoubt of Minhla. The attack was pressed home by a brigade of British Indian infantry on shore, covered by a bombardment from the river, and the Burmese were defeated with a loss of 170 killed and 276 prisoners, besides many more drowned in the attempt to escape by river.

The advance was continued next day and the following days, the naval brigade and heavy artillery leading and silencing in succession the Burmese river defences at Nyaung-U , Pakokku and Myingyan . However, some sources say that the Burmese resistance was not fierce because the defence minister of Thibaw, Kinwon Min Gyi U Kaung, who wanted to negotiate peace with the British, issued an order to the Burmese troops not to attack the British. His order was obeyed by some, but not all, Burmese brigades. In addition, the British deceived the Burmese including U Kaung by their propaganda that they did not intend to occupy the country for long, but only to depose the king Thibaw and enthrone Prince Nyaung Yan, an elder half-brother of Thibaw, as the new king. At that time, most of the Burmese did not like Thibaw both because of the poor management of his government and because he and/or his king-makers had executed nearly a hundred royal princes and princesses when he ascended the throne in 1878.

Nyaung Yan was a survivor of this royal massacre and was living in exile in British India although in fact he was already dead at the time of this war. However, the British concealed the fact, and according to some sources the British even brought a man impersonating Prince Nyaung Yan along with them on their way to Mandalay so that Burmese would believe their story of installing a new king. Thus, the Burmese who welcomed this purported new king did not attempt to resist the invading British forces. However, when it became obvious that the British had actually failed to install a new king and Burma in fact had lost its independence, fierce rebellions by various Burmese groups, including the troops of the former royal Burmese army, ensued for more than a decade. U Kaung's role in the initial collapse of Burmese resistance later gave rise to the popular mnemonic U Kaung lein htouk minzet pyouk ("U Kaung's treachery, end of dynasty": U=1, Ka=2, La=4, Hta=7 in Burmese numerology i.e. Burmese Era 1247 or 1885AD).

Photograph of the arrival of British forces in Mandalay on 28 November 1885, Third Anglo-Burmese War. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). On 26 November, when the flotilla was approaching the capital Ava , envoys from King Thibaw met General Prendergast with offers of surrender; and on the 27th, when the ships were lying off that city and ready to commence hostilities, the order from the king to his troops to lay down their arms was received. There were three strong forts here, full at that moment with thousands of armed Burmese, and though a large number of these filed past and laid down their arms by the king's command, still many more were allowed to disperse with their weapons; and these, in the time that followed, broke up into guerrilla bands and prolonged the war for years.

Meanwhile, however, the surrender of the king of Burma was complete; and on 28 November, in less than a fortnight from the declaration of war, Mandalay had fallen, and King Thibaw was taken prisoner, and every strong fort and town on the river, and all the kings ordnance (1861 pieces), and thousands of rifles, muskets and arms had been taken. The British organized the looting of the palace and city of Mandalay. The proceeds were sold off at a profit of 9 lakhs of rupees. From Mandalay, General Prendergast reached Bhamo on 28 December. This was a very important move, as it forestalled the Chinese, who had their own claims and border disputes with Burma. Though the king was dethroned and exiled with the royal family to India, and the capital and the whole of the river in the hands of the British, bands of insurgents took advantage of the situation to continue an armed resistance which proved very difficult to defeat. Annexation and resistance Burma was annexed by the British on 1 January 1886.

Critics of the war consider the timing of the annexation to be strong proof of what the British motives really were. But the annexation was only the beginning of an insurgency which would last until 1896. Photograph of King Thibaw's guards, East Gate, Mandalay Palace, 28 November 1885. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1835–1912). The final, and now completely successful, pacification of the country, under the direction of Sir Frederick (later Earl) Roberts , was only brought about by an extensive system of small military police protective posts scattered all over the country, and small lightly equipped columns moving out in response whenever a gathering of insurgents occurred. The British poured reinforcements into the country, and it was in this phase of the campaign, lasting several years that the most difficult and arduous work fell to the lot of the troops. The resistance was finally broken by meting out collective punishments on villages. Villages were burned and the property of villagers either confiscated or destroyed. The British policy of overwhelming reprisals against villages suspected of assisting the insurgency eventually brought the country under control.

The British also extended their control into the tribal areas of the Kachin Hills and Chin Hills. These territories, only nominally ruled even by the Burmese kingdom, were taken over by the British. Also taken were disputed territories in northern Burma claimed by the Chinese government. No account of the Third Burmese War would be complete without a reference to the first (and perhaps for this reason, the most notable) land advance into the country. This was carried out in November 1885 from Toungoo , the British frontier post in the east of the country. A small column of all arms carried it out under Colonel W. P. Dicken, 3rd Madras Light Infantry , the first objective being Ningyan ( Pyinmana ). The operations were completely successful, in spite of a good deal of scattered resistance, and the force after wards moved forward to Yamethin and Hlaingdet. As inland operations developed, the lack of mounted troops was badly felt, and several regiments of cavalry were brought over from India, while mounted infantry was raised locally. The British found that without mounted troops it was generally impossible to fight the Burmese successfully.

See also Mandalay - Kunming Mandalay By : en.wikipedia.org|Updated: 2008-11-07 General Introduction Mandalay is the second largest city and the last royal capital of Burma (Myanmar), and is the economic and cultural hub of Upper Burma. The city, located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the right bank of Irrawaddy river, has a population of nearly 1 million (2.5 million metropolitan area), and is also the capital of Mandalay Division. History The wall and moat of the Mandalay Fort at the city center. The Thudhamma Zayats were built during the reign of King Mindon.Founded in 1857 by King Mindon[2], Mandalay was the last capital (1860–1885) of the last independent Burmese Kingdom before annexation by the British after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. Unlike other Burmese towns, Mandalay did not grow from a smaller settlement, although a small village Hti Baunga did exist nearby.

Mandalay was set up in an empty area at the foot of 775 ft high (236 m) Mandalay Hill according to a prophecy made by the Buddha that in that exact place a great city, a metropolis of Buddhism, would come into existence on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism. King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on January 13, 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the Throne was celebrated in July 1858 and the former royal city of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill. With the ground-breaking ceremony, King Mindon laid the foundation of Mandalay on the 6th waning day of Kason, Burmese Era 1219 (1857).

The King simultaneously laid the foundations of seven edifices: the royal city with the battlemented walls, the moat surrounding it, the Maha Lawka Marazein Stupa (Kuthodaw Pagoda), the higher ordination hall named the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein, the Atumashi (Incomparable) monastery, the Thudhama Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the library for the Buddhist scriptures. The whole royal city was called Lei Kyun Aung Myei (Victorious Land over the Four Islands) and the royal palace, Mya Nan San Kyaw (The Famed Royal Emerald Palace). The new royal capital was called Yadanabon Naypyidaw, the Burmese version of its Pali name Ratanapura which means "The City of Gems".

It then became Mandalay after the hill; the name is a derivative of the Pali word "Mandala", which means "a plains land" - Mandalay is said to be as flat as the face of a drum - and also of the Pali word "Mandare", which means "an auspicious land." Mandalay was captured by the British during the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885). Reigning King Thibaw and his queen, Supayalat, were forced to evacuate the palace and eventually exiled to India. Renamed Fort Dufferin, the palace was used to quarter British and Indian troops and many of its fabulous treasures were looted. Some of the best pieces were sent back to Great Britain and can still be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mandalay suffered heavy damage during World War II. The Japanese captured Mandalay on 2 May 1942, and turned the fort that contained the palace, into a supply depot. The fort was heavily bombed by the British prior to their liberation of the city in March 1945.

The palace was burnt down to the ground and only the masonry plinth of the palace complex with a couple of masonry structures such as the royal mint and the hour drum tower remained. A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s. After Burma's independence from Britain in 1948, the city became the capital of Mandalay Division. The wall and moat of the Mandalay Fort at the city centre. Thudhama Zayats at the foot of Mandalay Hill on the northeast corner of the old city wall and moat. Used as exam halls for monks and novices during the reign of the last Konbaung kings of Burma, they still provide accommodation for large parties of pilgrims in bullock-carts from villages around Mandalay at annual pagoda festivals. Geography Mandalay is bounded by the Ayeyarwady River to the west and is located at 21°59′N 96°05′E﻿ / ﻿21.98, 96.08.

Cityscape Mandalay Hill: The hill has for long been a holy mount and legend has it that the Buddha on his visit had prophesied that a great city would be founded at its foot. Mandalay Hill, 230 metres in elevation, commands a magnificent view of the city and surrounding countryside. The construction of a motor-car road to reach the hill-top easily has already been finished. Entrance Fee - US$ 4 Mandalay Hill from Mingun across the Irrawaddy "when the water is small". Note the vast seasonal island in the river leaving a narrow channel in winter. These fertile islands are a frequent cause for dispute among the neighbouring villages over which one of them has the right to grow crops on. Mandalay Palace: The whole magnificent palace complex was destroyed by a fire during World War II. However, the finely built palace walls, the city gates with their crowning wooden pavilions and the surrounding moat still present an impressive scene of the Mandalay Palace "Mya-nan-san-kyaw Shwenandaw" which has been rebuilt using forced labour. A model of the Mandalay Palace, Nanmyint-saung and Cultural Museum are located inside the Palace grounds.

Entrance Fee - US$ 5 (Palace), Entrance Fee - US$ 3 (Museum) Shwenandaw Monastery: Famous for its intricate wood-carvings, this monastery is a fragile reminder of the old Mandalay Palace. Actually, it was built inside Mandalay Palace but it was moved to this place by King Thibaw in 1880. Entrance Fee - US$ 3 Maha Muni Pagoda: The Image is said to have been cast in the life-time of the Gautama Buddha and that the Buddha embraced It 7 times thereby bringing It to life. Consequently, devout Buddhists hold It to be alive and refer to It as the Maha Muni Sacred Living Image. Revered as the holiest pagoda in Mandalay, It was built by King Bodawpaya in 1784. The Image in a sitting posture is 12 feet and 7 inches (3.8 m) high. As the Image was brought from Rakhine State it was also called the Great Rakhine Buddha. The early morning ritual of washing the Face of Buddha Image draws a large crowd of devotees everyday.

The Great Image is also considered as the greatest, next to the Shwedagon Pagoda, in Burma. A visit to Mandalay is incomplete without a visit to Maha Muni Pagoda. Entrance Fee - US$ 4 Mohana Gill’s Column 35 Mohana Gill’s Column 35 Mohana Gill’s Column 35 Wonders of Myanmar - A Letter from Aunty Mohana - MANDALAY author: Mohana Gill posted: January 11, 2016 Mandalay is a city and former capital in northern Myanmar on the Irrawaddy River. In its center is the restored Mandalay palace from the Konbaung Dynasty, surrounded by a moat. Mandalay Hill provides views of the city from its summit, which is reached by covered stairway. At its foot, the Kuthodaw pagoda houses hundreds of Buddhist-scripture-inscribed marble slabs. Mandalay gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. It is said that Mandalay was founded on the wishes of the ruler of the day. On 13 February 1857,King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay hill.

When it was founded in 1857,the royal city was officially named Yadanabon, a loan of the Pali name Ratanapura “City of Gems”. It was also called Lay Kyun Aung Myei “Victorious Land over the Four islands”. The new capital city site was 25.5sq miles in area surrounded by four rivers. The plan called for a 144-square block grid patterned citadel, anchored by a 16 square block royal palace compound at the centre by Mandalay Hill. Four 2,032m long walls and a moat 64mwide, 4.6m deep, surrounded the 1020-acre citadel. At intervals of 169m along the wall, were turrets of gold-tipped spires for watchmen. The walls had three gates on each side, and five bridges to cross the moat. In addition, the king also commissioned the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein upasampada hall, the Thudamma “Good Dharma” zayats or public houses for preaching Buddhism and a library for the Pali Canon.

In June 1857,the former royal capital of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill, although construction of the palace compound was officially completed two years later on 23 May 1859. For the next 26 years, Mandalay was the last royal capital of the Konbaung Dynasty, the last independent Burmese Kingdom before the annexation by the British Empire. Mandalay ceased to be the capital on November 1885 when the conquering British sent Thibaw Min and his queen Supayalat into exile, ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War. Mandalay remained the chief city of Upper Burma during the British colonial rule, but the commercial and political importance shifted to Yangon. Throughout the colonial years, Mandalay was the center of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning, and as the last royal capital, was regarded by the Burmese as a primary symbol of sovereignty and identity. In 1904-05, a plague caused about one third of the population to flee the city. World War 2 brought devastation to the city through air raids.

The Japanese conquest of Burma, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service carried out an extensive assault on the city. About three-fifths of the houses were destroyed and about 2,000 civilians were killed. The palace citadel was turned into a supply depot by the Japanese and burnt to the ground by Allied bombing. The only two things remained were the watchtower and the royal mint. A replica of the palace was built in the 1990s. After the country gained independence from the British in 1948, Mandalay continued to be the main cultural, educational and economic hub of Upper Burma. The city has had many fires that have destroyed a lot of buildings and markets. In the 1980s two major fires that razed more than 6,000 houses and public buildings left more than 36,000 people homeless hit the city. In 1984 another fire destroyed 2,700 buildings and made 23,000 people homeless. Fires continued to plague the city and in 2008 a major fire destroyed Mandalay’s second largest market.

Another fire in 2009 destroyed about 320 homes and left over 16,000 people homeless. As a result of the fires there was a significant change in the city’s physical character and ethnic makeup. Today 30-40% of the city’s population is believed to be ethnic Chinese. The city is now rebuilt with apartment blocks, hotels and shopping centers and now has become once again the trading hub connecting Lower Burma, Upper Burma, China and India. Mandalay celebrated its 150th birthday on 15 May 2009. Inspite of the rise of Naypyidaw, the country’s capital since 2006, Mandalay remains Upper Burma’s main commercial, educational and health center. Mandalay is a very interesting place to visit and it is surrounded by a number of very old and historical sites. It remains Burma’s cultural and religious center of Buddhism, having numerous monasteries and more than 700 pagodas. In the next few articles we will visit interesting pagodas and monasteries.

Mandalay : The Second largest City Of Myanmar ( Burma ) ~ Columbus Travels Myanmar ( Burma ) 6/23/2016 | No comment Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located 716 km (445 mi) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, in the past twenty years, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health center. Like most former (and present) capitals of Burma, Mandalay was founded on the wishes of the ruler of the day.

On 13 February 1857, King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill, ostensibly to fulfill a prophecy on the founding of a metropolis of Buddhism in that exact place on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism. The new capital city site was 66 km2 (25.5 sq mi) in area, surrounded by four rivers. The plan called for a 144-square block grid patterned citadel, anchored by a 16 square block royal palace compound at the center by Mandalay Hill. The 1020-acre (413-hectare) citadel was surrounded by four 2,032 m (6,666 ft) long walls and a moat 64 m (210 ft) wide, 4.6 m (15 ft) deep. At intervals of 169 m (555 ft) along the wall, were turrets with gold-tipped spires for watchmen.

The walls had three gates on each side, and five bridges to cross the moat.In addition, the king also commissioned the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein upasampada hall, the Thudamma "Good Dharma" zayats or public houses for preaching Buddhism and a library for the Pāli Canon. In June 1857, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill, although construction of the palace compound was officially completed only two years later, on Monday, 23 May 1859. For the next 26 years, Mandalay was to be the last royal capital of the Konbaung Dynasty, the last independent Burmese kingdom before its final annexation by the British Empire. Mandalay ceased to be the capital on 28 November 1885 when the conquering British sent Thibaw Min and his queen Supayalat into exile, ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War.

While Mandalay would continue to be the chief city of Upper Burma during the British colonial rule, the commercial and political importance had irreversibly shifted to Yangon. The British view on the development of Mandalay (and Burma) was mainly with commercial intentions. While rail transport reached Mandalay in 1889, less than four years after the annexation, the first college in Mandalay, Mandalay College, was not established until 40 years later, in 1925. The British looted the palace, with some of the treasures still on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, also renaming the palace compound Fort Dufferin and used it to billet troops. Throughout the colonial years, Mandalay was the centre of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning, and as the last royal capital, was regarded by the Burmese as a primary symbol of sovereignty and identity. Between the two World Wars, the city was Upper Burma's focal point in a series of nationwide protests against the British rule. The British rule brought in many immigrants from India to the city. In 1904–05, a plague caused about one-third of the population to flee the city .

During World War II, Mandalay suffered the most devastating air raids of the war. On April 3, 1942, during the Japanese conquest of Burma, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service carried out an extensive assault on the city. As the city was defenseless and its firefighting were weak that had been lost in the earlier bombing and that they met no opposition from the British RAF as all its aircraft had by now been withdrawn to India, three-fifths of the houses were destroyed and 2,000 civilians were killed. Many again fled the city when the city was under Japanese occupation from May 1942 to March 1945. The palace citadel, turned into a supply depot by the Japanese, was burnt to the ground by Allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. (A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s.) After the country gained independence from Britain in 1948, Mandalay continued to be the main cultural, educational and economic hub of Upper Burma. Until the early 1990s, most students from Upper Burma went to Mandalay for university education.

Until 1991, Mandalay University, the University of Medicine, Mandalay and the Defence Services Academy were the only three universities in Upper Burma. Only a few other cities had "Degree Colleges" affiliated with Mandalay University that offered a limited number of subjects. Today, the city attracts a fraction of students as the military government requires students to attend their local universities in order to reduce concentration of students in one place. In November 1959, Mandalay celebrated its centennial with a festival at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Special commemorative stamps were issued. During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–1988), the city's infrastructure deteriorated. By the early 1980s, the second largest city of Burma resembled a town with low-rise buildings and dusty streets filled mostly with bicycles. In the 1980s, the city was hit by two major fires. In May 1981, a fire razed more than 6,000 houses and public buildings, leaving more than 36,000 homeless.

On 24 March 1984, another fire destroyed 2,700 buildings and made 23,000 people homeless. Fires continue to plague the city. A major fire destroyed Mandalay's second largest market, Yadanabon Market, in February 2008, and another major fire in February 2009 destroyed 320 homes and left over 1600 people homeless. The 1980s fires augured a significant change in the city's physical character and ethnic makeup. Huge swaths of land left vacant by the fires were later purchased, mostly by the ethnic Chinese, many of whom were recent immigrants from Yunnan. The Chinese influx accelerated after the current State Peace and Development Council came to power in 1988.

With the Burmese government turning a blind eye, many Chinese immigrants from Yunnan (and also from Sichuan) poured into Upper Burma in the 1990s and many openly ended up in Mandalay.[ In the 1990s alone, about 250,000 to 300,000 Yunnanese are estimated to have migrated to Mandalay. Today, ethnic Chinese people are believed to make up about 30%–40% of the city's population, and are a major factor in the city's doubling of population from about 500,000 in 1980 to one million in 2008. Chinese festivals are now firmly embedded in the city's cultural calendar. It is a common Burmese complaint that Mandalay is becoming little more than a satellite of China and that the romance of old Mandalay is long gone. The Chinese are largely responsible for the economic revitalization of the city centre, now rebuilt with apartment blocks, hotels and shopping centres, and returning the city to its role as the trading hub connecting Lower Burma, Upper Burma, China and India.

The Chinese dominance in the city center has pushed out the rest to the suburbs. The urban sprawl now encompasses Amarapura, the very city King Mindon left some 150 years ago. Mandalay celebrated its 150th birthday on 15 May 2009, at precisely 4:31:36 am. Despite the rise of Naypyidaw, the country's capital since 2006, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health center. Mandalay is located in the central dry zone of Burma by the Irrawaddy river at 21.98° North, 96.08° East, 80 meters (260 feet) above sea level. Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours. Mandalay lies along the Sagaing Fault, a tectonic plate boundary between the India and Sunda plates. (The biggest earthquake in its history, with a magnitude of 7, occurred in 1956.

The devastation was greatest in nearby Sagaing , and it came to be known as the Great Sagaing Quake.) The Best Places Atumashi Monastery: The "Atumashi kyaung ", which literally means "inimitable vihara ", is also one of the well known sights. The original structure was destroyed by a fire in 1890 though the masonry plinth survived. It was indeed an inimitable one in its heyday. The reconstruction project was started by the government on 2 May 1995 and completed in June 1996. Buddha's Replica Tooth Relic Pagoda: One of the Buddha's Sacred Replica Tooth Relics was enshrined in the Mandalay Swedaw Pagoda on Maha Dhammayanthi Hill in Amarapura Township. The pagoda was built with cash donations contributed by the peoples of Burma and Buddhist donors from around the world under the supervision of the State Peace and Development Council.

The authorities and donors hoisted Buddha's Replica Tooth Relic Pagoda Mandalay's Shwe Htidaw (sacred golden umbrella), Hngetmyatnadaw (sacred bird perch vane) and Seinhpudaw (sacred diamond bud) on 13 December 1996. Kuthodaw Pagoda (The World's Biggest Book): Built by King Mindon in 1857, this pagoda modeled on the Shwezigon Pagoda at Nyaung-U, is surrounded by 729 upright stone slabs on which are inscribed the entire Tipiṭaka as edited and approved by the Fifth Buddhist council. It is popularly known as "World's largest book" for its stone scriptures. Kyauktawgyi Pagoda: Near the southern approach to Mandalay Hill stands the Kyauktawgyi Buddha image built by King Mindon in 1853–78. The Image was carved out of a huge single block of marble. Statues of 80 arahants are assembled around the Image, twenty on each side. The carving was completed in 1865.

Mahamuni Buddha Temple: The image of Gautama Buddha at Mahamuni Buddha Temple is said to have been cast in the life-time of the Gautama Buddha and that the Buddha embraced it seven times, thereby bringing it to life. Consequently, devout Buddhists hold it to be alive and refer to it as the Mahamuni Sacred Living Image. Revered as the holiest pagoda in Mandalay, It was built by King Bodawpaya in 1784. The image in a sitting posture is 12 feet and 7 inches (3.8 m) high. As the image was brought from Rakhine State, it was also called the Great Rakhine Buddha. The early morning ritual of washing the Face of Buddha Image draws a large crowd of devotees everyday. The Great Image is also considered as the greatest in Burma next to Shwedagon Pagoda. A visit to Mandalay is incomplete without a visit to Mahamuni Pagoda. Mandalay Hill: The hill has for long been a holy mount. Legend has it that the Buddha, on his visit, had prophesied that a great city would be founded at its foot.

Mandalay Hill, 230 metres in elevation, commands a magnificent view of the city and surrounding countryside. The construction of a motor road to reach the hill-top has already been finished. Mandalay Palace: The whole magnificent palace complex was destroyed by a fire during World War II. However, the finely built palace walls, the city gates with their crowning wooden pavilions and the surrounding moat still represent an impressive scene of the Mandalay Palace, "Mya-nan-san-kyaw Shwenandaw", which has been rebuilt using forced labor. A model of the Mandalay Palace, Nanmyint-saung and Mandalay Cultural Museum are located inside the Palace grounds. Shwenandaw Monastery: Famous for its intricate wood carvings, this monastery is a fragile reminder of the old Mandalay Palace. Actually, it was a part of the old palace later moved to its current site by King Thibaw in 1880. The Chinese Temple of Mandalay: The Chinese Temple, well known for its old artistic architectures and cultural artifacts, reflects Mandalay's old history. Yadanabon Zoological Gardens: A small zoo between the Mandalay Palace and Mandalay Hill.

It has over 300 species and is notably the only zoo to have Burmese roofed turtles. Credit >> Wiki We offers a large variety of tours throughout Myanmar and Thailand. We handle individual travelers as well as groups. Guided tours are available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. All tours are conducted by experienced licensed guides in air-conditioned vehicles. All Seat-in-Coach (SIC) Tours have guaranteed fixed departures operating in German and Spanish. The list of our tour services is as follows : Domestic and International Air-ticketing Twitter : Please leave a comment and let me know if you have any stories or questions Remember, if this article doesn’t get many comments I’ll look like an idiot and feel very sad 😉 Contact Us Drop us a line! We love waking up to messages from all corners of the world! Send us your comments, questions, thoughts, or anything at all, and we promise to get back to you quickly. We really appreciate your feedback about our blog. Guest Posts We would love to feature you as a guest blogger on The Global Couple! We’re after your original travel photo essays, engaging travel-related stories, and unique tips and advice.

Please send us an email with your idea/outline for a guest post and we will get back to you as soon as we can. You can email us directly at columbustravelandtour.wt@gmail.com or via the contact form ! Posted by Destination in Myanmar- Shwe Mine Yoon Travels and Tours Co., Ltd. Destination in Myanmar YANGON Yangon was founded as Dagon in the 6th century AD by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centered about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, and renamed it "Yangon". The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826) but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841. The British Empire seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Based on the design by army engineer Lt.

Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University. Colonial Yangon, with its 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, almost half of Yangon's population was Indian or South Asian. Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the city's name was changed to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards.

Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thuwana and Okkalapa in the 1950s to Dagon Myothit (New Dagon) in the 1990s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 400 square miles (1000 sqkm). In November 2005, the military government designated the newly developed city of Naypyidaw, 200 miles (322 km) north in Mandalay Division as the new administrative capital. The motives for the move remain unclear. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial center of Burma. BAGAN The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 16 square miles. The majority of its buildings were built in the 1000s to 1200s, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire. It was not until King Pyinbya moved the capital to Bagan in AD 874 that it became a major city.

However, in Burmese tradition, the capital shifted with each reign, and thus Bagan was once again abandoned until the reign of Anawrahta. In 1057, King Anawrahta conquered the Mon capital of Thaton, and brought back the Tripitaka Pali scriptures, Buddhist monks and craftsmen and all of these were made good use of in order to transform Bagan into a religious and cultural centre. With the help of a monk from Lower Burma, Anawrahta made Theravada Buddhism a kind of state religion, and the king also established contacts with Sri Lanka. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Bagan became a truly cosmopolitan centre of Buddhist studies, attracting monks and students from as far as India, Sri Lanka as well as the Thai and Khmer kingdoms. In 1287, the kingdom fell to the Mongols, after refusing to pay tribute to Kublai Khan. Abandoned by the Burmese king and perhaps sacked by the Mongols, the city declined as a political centre, but continued to flourish as a place of Buddhist scholarship.

MANDALAY Founded in 1857 by King Mindon Mandalay was the last capital (1860–1885) of the last independent Burmese Kingdom before annexation by the British after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. Unlike other Burmese towns, Mandalay did not grow from a smaller settlement, although a small village Hti Baunga did exist nearby. Mandalay was set up in an empty area at the foot of 775 ft high (236 m) Mandalay Hill according to a prophecy made by the Buddha that in that exact place a great city, a metropolis of Buddhism, would come into existence on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism. King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on January 13, 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the Throne was celebrated in July 1858 and the former royal city of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill.

With the ground-breaking ceremony, King Mindon laid the foundation of Mandalay on the 6th waning day of Kason, Burmese Era 1219 (1857). The King simultaneously laid the foundations of seven edifices: the royal city with the battlemented walls, the moat surrounding it, the Maha Lawka Marazein Stupa (Kuthodaw Pagoda), the higher ordination hall named the Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein, the Atumashi (Incomparable) monastery, the Thudhama Zayats or public houses for preaching the Doctrine, and the libThe whole royal city was called Lei Kyun Aung Myei (Victorious Land over the Four Islands) and the royal palace, Mya Nan San Kyaw (The Famed Royal Emerald Palace). The new royal capital was called Yadanabon Naypyidaw, the Burmese version of its Pali name Ratanapura which means "The City of Gems".

It then became Mandalay after the hill; the name is a derivative of the Pali word "Mandala", which means "a plains land" - Mandalay is said to be as flat as the face of a drum - and also of the Pali word "Mandare", which means "an auspicious land." Mandalay was captured by the British during the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885). Reigning King Thibaw and his queen, Supayalat, were forced to evacuate the palace and eventually exiled to India. Renamed Fort Dufferin, the palace was used to quarter British and Indian troops and many of its fabulous treasures were looted. Some of the best pieces were sent back to Great Britain and can still be see in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mandalay suffered heavy damage during World War II. The Japanese captured Mandalay on 2 May 1942, and turned the fort that contained the palace, into a supply depot. The fort was heavily bombed by the British prior to their liberation of the city in March 1945.

The palace was burnt down to the ground and only the masonry plinth of the palace complex with a couple of masonry structures such as the royal mint and the hour drum tower remained. A faithful replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s. After Burma's independence from Britain in 1948, the city became the capital of Mandalay Division. INLAY LAKE One of the most picturesque spots in Southeast Asia, Inle Lake and surrounding region is an outstanding alternative to the historical sites of Bagan and Mandalay. Surrounded by hazy Blue Mountains, this lovely lake is home to the Intha people, who constructed villages on stilts over the surface of the lake and farm floating islands created from mud and reed. It is a kind of water world, where the only mode of transportation is by boats and the Intha are also known for their unique leg rowing. At Inle Lake, one that attracts the Buddhist and non-buddhist alike is the Phaungdawoo Pagoda, the residence of five ancient images of Buddha. Although Inle Lake and the leg-rowers are the most famous attraction in the region.

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Question: What was the last royal capital of the Burmese kingdom before its annexation by the British in 1885 when King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat were exiled after the Third Anglo-Burmese War?
Answer: Mandalay