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Concept
Mandalay
Summary
Mandalay (ˌmændəˈleɪ or ˈmændəleɪ; mándəlé) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census).
Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, replacing Amarapura as the new royal capital of the Konbaung dynasty. It was Burma's final royal capital before the kingdom's annexation by the British Empire in 1885. Under British rule, Mandalay remained commercially and culturally important despite the rise of Yangon, the new capital of British Burma. The city suffered extensive destruction during the Japanese conquest of Burma in the Second World War. In 1948, Mandalay became part of the newly independent Union of Burma.
Today, Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Myanmar and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of illegal Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, since the late 20th century, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Myanmar's main commercial, educational and health center.
The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. The name is probably a derivative of a Pali word, although the exact word of origin remains unclear. The root word has been speculated to be (မဏ္ဍလ), referring to circular plains or Mandara, a mountain from Hindu mythology.
When it was founded in 1857, the royal city was officially named Yadanarbon (, jədənàbòʊɰ̃), a loan of the Pali name Ratanapūra () "City of Gems." It was also called Lay Kyun Aung Myei (, lé dʑʊ́ɰ̃ àʊɰ̃ mjè, "Victorious Land over the Four Islands") and Mandalay Palace (, mja̰ náɰ̃ sàɰ̃ tɕɔ̀, "Famed Royal Emerald Palace").
Like most former (and present) capitals of Burma, Mandalay was founded on the wishes of the ruler of the day. On 13 February 1857, King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill, ostensibly to fulfill a prophecy on the founding of a metropolis of Buddhism in that exact place on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism.
Official source
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