The Forbidden City in Myanmar - Mandalay Palace
Jul 15,2023 | Defulin Teak
The Forbidden City, a household name in China, represents the supreme power and wealth of the emperor, as well as delicacy, splendor and elegance. In Mandalay City, Myanmar, there is also such a "Forbidden City", and covers a larger area, which is the Mandalay Palace that Defulin will introduce today.
Mandalay Palace was built in 1857, in the last king of the Kampong Pang dynasty, the reign of King Sik Pao. This palace is located in the center of the old city of Mandalay, covers an area of about four million square meters, containing 104 various types of halls, the largest palace in the world today. The palace is square in shape, with red brick walls with towers every 200 meters to protect the view of the city, and a 60-meter wide moat outside the walls to isolate it from the outside world.
However, even so, this splendid palace was almost destroyed by the war during World War II. It wasn't until 1989 that the Burmese government rebuilt the palace on its original site, restoring 89 of the main halls and opening it to the public in 1996, based on historical data. So the palace we see today is actually a product of the government's reconstruction. Mandalay Palace for the wooden structure, using the precious Myanmar natural teak wood as the main material, with red as the main color, the corners coated with gold lacquer. The red and gold match, elegant and honorable. Within the palace are all sculptures, everywhere there are patterns, more this noble hall adds a few points of fine and gorgeous.
The entire palace is divided into east and west, male and female relatives live in the east and west respectively, the center is the Golden Palace. Into the temple can be seen in a hall, the hall has a direct access to the center of the hall steps, and the end of the steps on the platform is the inviolable throne of the king's lion. It is reported that the hall for the king to receive foreign envoys place, and this long ladder represents the king's supreme power and status. After the throne, there is the inner hall, where Mahagiri, the "Nayat", the blessing of the Burmese royal family, is enshrined. When the courtiers and the king enter the inner hall, the king bows to Mahagiri and the courtiers kneel down to the king.
Another place in the palace that must be visited is the 33-meter-high watchtower. Inside the watchtower there are 121 steps, pick up the steps, as the height rises, the heart of the expectations gradually increased. And the beauty of the top of the tower is really living up to expectations - brilliant palace in the sunlight shining gold, layers and layers of temples like golden waves, dazzling. Originally full of praise for the Mandalay Palace at the moment only left in awe, it is difficult to imagine more than a hundred years ago when the Mandalay Palace was first built, the ancients are with what perseverance, wisdom and craftsmanship, to create such a magnificent building.
The river went east, when the emperor is no longer in, but the teak to build the palace but in the destruction of a few decades after the new life, and survived to the present, leaving us on the past unlimited reverie. Mandalay Palace is the jewel of the ancient city, the jewel of the world. Follow Defulin to see more knowledge related to wood!