Although closely surrounded by the ancient city sites of Sagaing, Mingun, Inwa and Amarapura, Mandalay itself was only founded in 1857 by King Mindon. Under the name of Yadanarpon, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Upper Burma until it was annexed by Britain in 1885. The king claimed to be fulfilling a prophecy by building a new capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill, though in reality most of the remainder of his kingdom, and former capitals, had already been swallowed up by the British.

Mandalay was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and suffered severe damaged from both heavy ground fighting, which extended right into the city centre, as well as Allied bombing. Estimates say well over half of the city was destroyed. In more recent times it’s seen a lot of investment and immigration from nearby China and the resulting reconstruction of the city hasn’t been free of ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 1,300 words.)