Mingun

Hop on boat from Mayanchan Jetty in Mandalay and cross the Ayeyarwaddy River to visit this little town which has the largest bell and pagoda in the world.

Mingun Pahtodawgyi Pagoda
This huge ruin dominates the landscape.  This is the first tier of what was going to be the biggest pagoda in the world. It was being built by King Bodawpaya until he learned of a prophesy that the country would fall when construction was completed.   Construction immediately stopped and what was left was damaged by an earthquake in 1839.  Climb the 174 steps to reach the top.

Mingun Lions
These two huge lions were damaged in the earthquake. See the marble eyeball of the lion on the floor, and their claws are on display in a shed near the Pahtodawgyi Pagoda.

Zaw Min Art Gallery
Visit the studio of this professional artist who has exhibited abroad.  His landscapes are particularly stunning.

Pondaw Pagoda
This is a working model of the Pahtodawgyi Paya, so you see what the final pagoda was going to look like.

Dhammanada Monastery
Home of the late Mastermind monk,  Sayadaw U Viseitta Sara Vivamsa.  He received a Guinness Book of Records Award for reciting the 16,000 pages of the Tipitaka canons from memory.  Inside there is a museum dedicated to his life.

Mingun Bell
The largest working bell in the world at 3.7 metres high and weighing 90 tonnes. It was cast in 1808.  The bell fell off its posts during the earthquake and it was raised on new supports by creating a water channel underneath it and slowly raising it with bamboo poles.

Hsinbyume or Mya Theindan Pagoda
Built by King Bagidaw in 1816 in memory of this senior wife who died in childbirth. The seven terraces represent the seven hills of Mount Meru, the centre of the universe in Buddhist cosmology. There are 100 steps to the top.