Bagan

Bagan

The ancient city of Bagan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay region of Myanmar. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first Kingdom which united the territories of what later became Myanmar. In the kingdom's heyday, between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were built in the Bagan Plain alone, of which more than 2,200 temples and pagodas remain. The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a major attraction for the country's emerging tourism industry. Bagan is a sacred landscape with an extraordinary repository of Buddhist art and architecture and provides dramatic evidence of the Bagan Period. Bagan is notable not only for the sheer number of religious edifices in Myanmar, but also for the amazing architecture of the buildings and their significant contribution to Burmese temple design. The artistic architecture of the pagodas in Bagan is a testament to the craftsmanship of Myanmar's artisans. The churches can be divided into two broad categories, the stupa-style solid churches and the gu-style hollow churches. Notable cultural sites include the Ananda Temple, the Bupaya Pagoda, the Dhammayangyi Temple, the Dhammayazika Pagoda, the Gawdawpalin Temple, the Gubyaukgyi Temple, the Htilominlo Temple, the Lawkananda Pagoda, the Mahabodhi Temple, the Manuha Temple, the Mingalazedi Pagoda, the Minyeingon Temple, the Myazedi inscription, the Nanpaya Temple and many more.