Mandalay Hill

Mandalay Hill is a 240 meters (790 ft) hill that is located to the northeast of the city center of Mandalay in Myanmar. 

Amarapura/阿玛拉普拉古城

Amarapura is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay. It is bounded by the Irrawaddy River in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in the north, and the ancient capital site of Inwa in the south. 

It was the capital of Myanmar twice during the Konbaung period (1783–1821 and 1842–1859) before finally being supplanted by Mandalay 11 km north in 1859. It is historically referred to as Taungmyo (Southern City) in relation to Mandalay. 

Amarapura today is part of Mandalay, as a result of urban sprawl. The township is known today for its traditional silk and cotton weaving, and bronze casting. It is a popular tourist day-trip destination from Mandalay.

U Bein Bridge/乌本桥

Construction began when the capital of Ava Kingdom moved to Amarapura, and the bridge is named after the mayor who had it built. It is used as an important passageway for the local people and has also become a tourist attraction and therefore a significant source of income for souvenir sellers. 

It is particularly busy during July and August when the lake is at its highest.

The bridge was built from wood reclaimed from the former royal palace in Inwa. It features 1,086 pillars that stretch out of the water, some of which have been replaced with concrete. 

Though the bridge largely remains intact, there are fears that an increasing number of the pillars are becoming dangerously decayed. Some have become entirely detached from their bases and only remain in place because of the lateral bars holding them together. 





Damage to these supports have been caused by flooding as well as a fish breeding program introduced into the lake which has caused the water to become stagnant. The Ministry of Culture's Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library plans to carry out repairs when plans for the work are finalized.





From 1 April 2009, eight police force personnel have been deployed to guard the bridge. Their presence is aimed at reducing anti-social behavior and preventing criminal activities, with the first arrest coming in September 2013 when two men were reported for harassing tourists.

Inwa or Ava, located in Mandalay Region, Burma (Myanmar), is an ancient imperial capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries. 

Throughout history, it was sacked and rebuilt numerous times. The capital city was finally abandoned after it was completely destroyed by a series of major earthquakes in March 1839.

Though only a few traces of its former grandeur remain today, the former capital is a popular day-trip tourist destination from Mandalay.

Popularly known as Me Nu Ok Kyaung, it was built in 1818 by Nanmadaw Me Nu, the famous Chief Queen of Bagyidaw, for the residence of her religious Preceptor, the Nyaunggan Sayadaw. The earthquake of 1838, damaged it, and in 1873, it was restored by Sinbyumashin, Queen of Mindon, and a daughter of Nanmadaw Me Nu. The building is markedly different from traditional Burmese monasteries, which are constructed with wood, not masonry.

This 16 span cantilever bridge was the only structure to span the Irrawaddy until recently. Although now superseded by a parallel 2005 road bridge, it is still in use for railway and local road traffic.

Sagaing is the capital of Sagaing Region (formerly Sagaing Division). Located on the Irrawaddy River, 20 km to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing, with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the 240 m hill.

Sagaing was the capital of Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that rose up after the fall of Pagan dynasty, where one of Thihathu's sons, Athinkhaya, established himself. 227 During the Ava period (1364–1555), the city was the common fief of the crown prince or senior princes. The city briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763 in the reign of King Naungdawgyi.

On 8 August 1988, Sagaing was the site of demonstrations which were concluded by a massacre in which around 300 civilians were killed. 

Today, with about 70,000 inhabitants, the city is part of Mandalay built-up area with more than 1,022,000 inhabitants estimated in 2011. The city is a frequent tourist destination of day trippers. Within the city are the Sagaing Institute of Education, the Sagaing Education College, Sagaing University, Technological University, and co-operative university.

I was proud of myself because I visited three ancient capital cities and one Sagaing hill by one rented bike and my feet in one day.

People can see four pictures which were taken in 1901, 1935, 1984 and 2010 respectively, so it proved how much it had been changing in the past over 100 years.

Many people come here to pray and stick the gold leaf to the Buddha as well.

People can know the historical stories about the Buddhism and how wide the Buddhism spread around the Asia in the Buddhism museum.

It is a admirable thing if one kid can become a novice in one family.

Local Food

Roof Bar

Entertainment

I watched two movies in Mandalay. One was Chinese movie called Monster Hunt and the other was Black Panther. To surprise me, people could buy the ticket at the different price according to the seat he or she chose.