Picture by marhasApproaching Mingun on Ayeryawady River, with Pahtodawgyi, the unfinished stupa, in the background.
Picture by brussels100A stairway leading up from the river banks.
Picture by marhasColonial-era buildings await you after landing
The Mingun Bell: The biggest functioning bell of the world, at least until 2000. Its weight is around 90 000 kilograms. King Bodawpaya (1782–1819) of Amarapura let it cast between 1808 and 1810. This happened on an island in the middle of the Ayeyarwady River. First a mould of clay was created, smoothed out and then waxed. Designs were made on the waxwork and more clay was applied. The casting of the Bell began on the night of April 29 in 1808. On the girder of the bell the words "Cast on 23 March 1810 in the 28th year of the royal reign" were applied. To achieve a pleasant sound the Bell was cast with a mix of five metals according to the ancient Myanmar tradition: gold, silver, bronze, iron and lead. Before moving the Great Bell to Mingun a 36-foot canal, big enough for two barges, was dug under the Bell. Then the rainy season was awaited, when the river rose and the water filled the canal and raised the barge. The bell then was transported down the river to Mingun among big festivities. There the same canal had been dugged. To raise the bell the canal was filled with earth, what let the remaining water rise. So the bell could be hung to three parallel bars of wood covered with metal plate. Those bars were on two upright posts. After the work had been done, the crafter of the bell was killed. King Bodawpaya wanted to prevent him from creating a bigger bell elsewhere... The earthquake on March 23 in 1839 damaged the supporting construction of the bell. It was resuspended by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in March 1896. The bell was hung to two iron bars supported with steel posts. And the bell was covered over by a Phyatthat, a pavilion of wood with 16 pillars open on all sides. Read more on myanmars.net.
Picture by marhasThe pavilion with 16 pillars
Picture by marhas
Picture by marhasOn the way to Pahtodawgyi.
Picture by marhas
Picture by marhasFantastic design, fantastic sky.
Picture by marhasThrough the lush garden you glimpse at Pahtodawgyi.
Picture by brussels100
Picture by brussels100
Picture by brussels100Hsin Byu Me Pagoda: Also: Mya Thein Tan Pagoda and Hsin Phyu Shin Ceti. Just a few hundred metres beyond the Mingun Bell along the main street of Mingun. Built in 1816 by the grandson of King Bodawpaya. The seven terraces of the Paya represent the seven mountain ranges and oceans in between and around Mount Meru with the stupa at the top representing Mount Meru itself.
Picture by antwerpeneR