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Amarapura in it’s hey days was “a microcosm of Myanmar Civilization.”
It is on the road to Sagaing about 7 miles south of Mandalay and is
now usually called by the local people as Taungmyo, the southern city
in contradiction to Mandalay which is to the north of it.
Unlike Mandalay, where the old walls of the royal city the moat are
still in existence in addition to indications to show where the palace
wall, the four-corner pagodas, the watch tower and the treasury had
stood, Amarapura has now nothing to show except the tombs of two Myanmar
Kings, Bodawpaya and Bagyidaw.
The city was founded in 1783 by King Bodawpaya moving the capital from
Ava to Amarapura. It lost its importance when the capital was shifted
to Mandalay. The first British Embassy to Burma led by Captain Symes
came to Amarapura in 1795.
It is the centre of silk-weaving industry, and practically every house
has a loom. The Katha villages are famous for weaving of Acheit-Htameins,
the intricately patterned open-skirt worn by the Burmese ladies on ceremonial
and state occasions.
Behind the town is a chain of lakes bordered by exceptionally fine trees.
Here you’ll see U Pein’s Bridge named after the town mayor
of the time when the bridge was built. It is the oldest bridge in Burma
and has stood the ravages of nature and the encroachment of men for
about two and a half centuries. Credit is due to the imagination of
the bridge builder and to the strength of World famous teak wood. It
is really worthwhile experience to walk over it. Kyauktawgyi, Pathodawgyi,
Shwekyet Yet and Shwekyet kya are some of the famous pagodas that can
be seen in Amarapura.
Interesting places in Amarapura: Pahto-daw-gyi (or) Mahavizaya-ranthi
Pagoda, Kuan Yin Temple, Chinese Joss House, Naga-yon Pagoda, Mahaganda-yon
Monastery, Lake Taungthaman, U Bein Bridge, Kyauk-taw-gyi Pagoda
 
 
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