This ancient city of Myanmar, once the capital for 400 years, is unique and now a tourist destination.

The map of Myanmar is beautiful, looking up it is like a diamond, looking across it is like an open screen peacock. And the Myanmar that exists on earth is amazing, looking closely is a charming land, looking far away is a ‘mysterious’ country. Whether looking closely or looking far away, it makes people marvel and reminisce endlessly.

As a tourist, to deeply understand Myanmar, there are two places that cannot be missed: one is Bagan, and the other is Mandalay. If Bagan is ‘City of a Thousand Pagodas’, then Mandalay is ‘Capital City’.

If saying Bagan is ‘City of a Thousand Pagodas’, Mandalay is ‘Capital City’.

Mandalay and its surrounding areas, including Sagaing, Inwa, and Amarapura, were all capitals of Myanmar in ancient times, preserving a large number of Myanmar-style pagodas and ancient buildings. Walking through them is like walking through Myanmar’s historical segments.

The oldest city among Mandalay’s four ancient cities is Inwa. It was the capital of the Inwa Dynasty from the 14th to the 19th centuries. This small city was repeatedly chosen as the capital of the Myanmar Kingdom and then abandoned. After human disaster, there were natural disasters, in March 1839, a series of earthquakes completely destroyed Inwa, and it fell silent, far away from the country’s political storms. Now Inwa Ancient City is one of the most popular tourist destinations for foreign tourists.

Inwa Ancient City is located in the suburbs of Mandalay, away from the hustle and bustle, somewhat desolate. A large number of buildings in the ancient city were severely damaged during World War II. Now tourists can only see 4 major relics: Yote Buk Temple, Yadana Hsimi’s Pagoda Group, Watch Tower and Maha Aungmye Temple.

Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery was built in 1822 by Queen Me Nu, and was destroyed by earthquake in 1838. It was rebuilt in 1872. Maha Aungmye Temple is the largest and most magnificent ancient building in Inwa.

The temple’s carvings are intricate, and its appearance looks quite similar to European architecture. After subsequent renovations, the temple has obvious color differences: the upper two layers are pale yellow, and the first layer is due to long-term aging, presenting a mottled black-yellow.

Many people mention Maha Aungmye Temple and often compare it to Angkor Wat. Although it is a ruin, Angkor Wat is a ruin, Maha Aungmye Temple is a complete building.

The second floor of the temple was also renovated, compared to the ruins of the first floor, here the space is spacious, the neat wooden floor, exquisite carvings vaguely have the old days’ splendor of the ancient city.

It can be said that Inwa Ancient City is the most famous among Mandalay’s four ancient cities, and Maha Aungmye Temple is also the most beautiful building in it. Many local people and tourists come here to pray every day. The difference of Maha Aungmye Temple is that most of Myanmar's temples are golden and white, but its outer wall is pale yellow, and its inner wall is white, especially under the sunshine, it seems to be sprinkled with golden light.

Under a clear and sunny day, walking in the temple, the roof is indistinct in the changing light, at that moment, human faith and historical buildings are intertwined, which strangely produces the magic of culture.