Townships

A stroll through People’s Park is a welcome distraction from Yangon’s hustle and bustle. Several unique sites greet the visitor, including a decommissioned Fokker propeller plane, a locomotive, some tree-top observation platforms—and the Planetarium. The windowless white building is near the Yangon Gallery in the southwestern end of the park. You could easily miss it amid the trees. It is open most days from 10am to 3pm. Inside, the building features Japanese stargazing equipment. Former military dictator Ne Win took an interest in astrology. He was reportedly quite pleased with this Japanese gift and used it to coincide his strategic moves and political plots with auspicious times. He told his astrologers to perfect their horoscopes using these modern electronic devices. As a result, the Planetarium was allegedly off-limits to the public, although Japanese officials denied this at the time.

The fates of Japan and Myanmar were tangled in the 20th century. Though their motives differed, Japan supported General Aung San’s nationalist movement in its fight against the British. Burma was of strategic interest to wartime Japan, which desperately sought oil and other natural resources to counteract the effects of Allied sanctions. Japan also wanted to cut through the Allied supply lines supporting Chiang Kai-shek’s government in Chongqing, China. At the time, Japan was also locked in conflict in Manchuria and beyond. Almost 200,000 Japanese soldiers perished on Burmese soil during the Second World War.

Despite the humiliating retreat of Japanese forces after their defeat in 1945, Japan’s influence remained strong during Burmese independence. Take its national army, the Tatmadaw: it started life strongly modelled on Japan’s army, since Aung San and his fellow Thakins received the best Japanese training. Japan and Burma entered into diplomatic relations in 1954 and Japanese development—or reparation—payments were a welcome source of funds for the fledgling and troubled democracy. After a short cooling-off period during the first years of the Ne Win regime, Japan resumed its role as the most generous donor to the country, providing two-thirds of total bilateral assistance between 1973 and 1988. Japan’s aid was strategic and natural resources still topped the agenda. As is often the case with Japanese aid, a lot of the money was tied to public procurement contracts that were hugely advantageous to Japanese firms. Eleven of them had offices in Yangon in the late 1980s. Controversially, Japan was also one of the few countries to maintain diplomatic ties with the military junta after 1988.

Today Japan has become a major investor in Myanmar’s opening-up and regards strengthened bilateral cooperation with the country as an important facet of its foreign policy, not least to keep China’s regional aspirations in check. To this end, Japan has forgiven hundreds of millions of US dollars worth of debt, generously supports a major deep sea port project near Yangon and is involved in a myriad of projects throughout the country. A real community of Japanese businesses has settled here; contrary to more cautious Western investors, they are not afraid to put their money to work in Myanmar. The Japanese development agency JICA is also the most active of the major bilateral aid bodies. Critical voices point out that Japanese aid is often tied to public procurement projects that benefit Japanese firms: look out for Japanese rolling stock on Yangon’s railway tracks. A rough headcount suggests there are more than 60 Japanese restaurants around the city, many of them perfectly authentic down to the gaggles of homesick salarymen who appear at dinner time.

After more than 20 years of restricted access, the Martyrs’ Mausoleum opened to the public again in 2013. This is where the victims of the 19 July 1947 assassination in the Secretariat, including General Aung San, are entombed and commemorated. A previous mausoleum to honour the victims of the 1947 assassination was erected in the early 1960s on a nearby site. In 1982, architects from all over Burma were invited to submit designs for a new commemorative structure. U Sun Oo, at the architecture faculty of Institute of Technology at the time, submitted a design on behalf of the school. The design’s main idea was to create an informal covered space for ordinary Burmese to pay respect to their heroes while at the same time learning about the recent history of the country. The architecture was to be simple and elegant, using locally sourced timber.

Alas, the existing memorial became the scene of another brutal assassination on 9 October 1983. A high-level delegation from South Korea was visiting the mausoleum when a bomb planted inside exploded, killing 21, including South Korea’s minister for foreign affairs and its deputy prime minister. South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan got away unscathed because his car was delayed in traffic. The bomb was planted by North Korean agents and destroyed much of the earlier structure.

This was seen as an omen. U Sun Oo and his 12-strong team were asked to redesign their monument to be bombproof, and to do it fast! Over a two-month period, the plans were completely reworked. They now featured nine curved—and staggered—upwardly pointing cantilevered reinforced concrete ribs. Based on a study of similar monumental sites in Burma, U Sun Oo and his team carefully considered the approach that visitors would take to the site, opting for a processional route arriving from the south to the feet of the buried heroes.

But then Ne Win personally got involved. Following his intervention, the design was watered down, weakening its architectural integrity. A road for official cars was instructed. Now there were to be two tiers of visitors, ordinary people and the elite. The road approached the site from the northeast, arriving at a handy drop-off point at the steps of the podium. Plans for a cut-out star adorning the left-hand rib were ditched. The elegant cantilevered ribs were deemed too daring, structurally, and a supporting wedge was added behind them. The materials were cheapened too, such as the floor surface: the one eventually used is unbearably hot in the sun, making it impossible to stand barefoot. Visitors have to wear shoes—highly disrespectful in Burmese tradition.

While U Sun Oo is credited as the architect of the project, you couldn’t blame him for wanting to disown it. His original idea for an egalitarian and elegant place of respect, mourning and education has become a bombastic and lifeless monument to the authoritarian cheapness of Ne Win. In addition, the architect wasn’t paid for the commission—it was deemed part of his work as a university lecturer. This is a story of broken dreams, one with which many architects will sympathise. U Sun Oo still works today and chairs the local architectural firm Design 2000. He is also a board member of the Yangon Heritage Trust and an outspoken supporter of urban conservation projects.

Although the monument is perhaps an architectural disappointment and certainly fell short of its creator’s ambitions, it retains symbolic power. As his daughter became the opposition’s figurehead, the cult of General Aung San was repressed by the military junta after 1988. The mausoleum became off limits to the public and the site was patrolled by soldiers. With the country’s recent opening-up, the authorities lifted these restrictions in 2013. Martyrs’ Day celebrations were once again held at the site of the mausoleum, involving Myanmar’s top political leadership from both government and opposition. Although President Thein Sein declined to attend, his Vice President Sai Mauk Kham represented him. Aung San Suu Kyi was reported to have “appreciated the manner in which the government had marked the day”.

Yangon’s most majestic landmark towers over the city from the top of Singuttara Hill. The pagoda is 99 metres high and covered with shining gold plates. It has been the centre of religious life in this part of Myanmar for many centuries. The pagoda’s layout is intricate, while the complex surrounding it is vast, occupying almost 50 hectares. Apart from being the most important centre of Buddhism in Myanmar, the Shwedagon Pagoda has been a focal point for military occupation during colonial times and a rallying place in Burma’s quest for independence. It would later become an important civic space for political resistance. It continues to—and forever will—hold a unique position in Yangon’s urban fabric.

In local legend, the two merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika offered the Buddha alms in the 6th century BC. They received eight strands of his hair as a blessing before they travelled to today’s Lower Myanmar. Then-king Okkalapa enshrined the hairs in what was to become the present-day pagoda. As Buddhism is thought to have come to Burma later, and from South India as opposed to North India, it is more likely that the original Shwedagon was built by local Mon people between the 6th and 10th century AD. The main stupa itself is a more recent addition, dating back about five centuries. Queen Shin Sawbu raised the structure and, before her death, had her own weight in gold added to the stupa as gilding—thus starting a long tradition. The pagoda was raised again to its current height of just under 100 metres by King Hsinbyushin in 1774 after an earthquake caused some serious damage to the previous structure. Over the centuries, many additions were made to the compound of the pagoda, such as dozens of shrines, assembly halls, monasteries and four monumental stairways, or zaungdans, which ascend Singuttara Hill from all four cardinal directions, with the one from the west being the longest.

The 20th century saw a number of local Burmese merchants rising to considerable wealth. Many of them became benefactors of the Shwedagon Pagoda. One of them was U Po Tha, who donated the funds to build Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda in Bahan township and contributed the Shwedagon’s Northern Devotional Hall in the late 1920s. Most of this early 20th century architecture was traditional in form but relied on European engineering advances to increase the height and elaborateness of tiered roofing, for example at the southern entrance. Woodcarving also became more extensive. Many structures surrounding the stupa have been built and rebuilt over the last decades, especially since a devastating fire in 1931 destroyed most of the wooden elements at the eastern and western sides of the platform.

Three out of the four zaungdans are lined with stalls selling Buddha statues and devotional flowers, among many other items. Visitors can also use the elevators such as the one conveniently located at the southern entrance. Footwear is not allowed anywhere beyond the base of the hill, where provisions are made for its storage. As this limits the freedom to exit the pagoda via another stairway, you are advised to carry shoes in your rucksack. Guides will approach foreign visitors—their tours generally offer decent value for money, especially if you are visiting the pagoda with a group. For those on a shoestring, the map given at the entrance is very detailed and informative. The best way to experience the Shwedagon is to forget about the facts and history for a while: simply appreciate the spirituality of the place, especially in the early morning hours or late in the evening, when the heat is less torrid and fewer tourists visit.

Upon entering the main terrace, the stupa looks even more impressive at close distance. Many smaller stupas, pavilions and tall prayer posts surround it, creating a labyrinth of built structures on the outer ring of the encircling passageway, which is about 50 metres wide and covered in marble. Each local visitor has his or her own path when visiting the Shwedagon. As Professor Elizabeth Moore of the School of Oriental and African Studies describes in her paper about “unexpected spaces” at the Shwedagon, each of them creates “a personal narrative in the physical and poetic space of the pagoda”. (The paper is worth reading for those interested in the practices and rituals in more detail. For bibliographic information, go here.) Many choose the clockwise walk around the stupa (circumambulation). Others venerate one of the four Buddhas of the current era (of which Gautama is the most recent; his hairs are also enshrined at the Shwedagon), while still others offer their wishes before planetary shrines and those dedicated to the eight Buddhist days of the week (with Wednesday partitioned into am and pm). Lastly, there are visitors who seek out cult images on display here.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is the living presence of the Buddha. Some see the lower, middle and upper levels as the Buddha, the teachings (dhamma) and the monkhood (sangha) respectively. Others think of the whole stupa as the Buddha in a seating position, with the umbrella (hti) at its top being its head. The amount of gold covering the pagoda is the subject of some speculation. Regardless of how many tons there already are, new layers of coating are added every five years alongside a renovation and re-polishing of the stupa. For this, an intricate scaffolding is installed, in itself an elaborate work of art performed by experienced contractors —seemingly unafraid of the dizzying heights.

The Shwedagon Pagoda was occupied by British forces during the Second Anglo–Burmese War. It would remain under colonial administration for almost 80 years before being returned to the Burmese in 1929. Much of the adjacent land was used for military purposes, as the pagoda was located in the cantonment area of Rangoon. A map from 1914 shows the Shwedagon surrounded by rifle ranges in the north, coolie lines (denoting imperial soldiers from India) and artillery barracks in the west as well as European infantry barracks to the south. The spiritual importance of the Shwedagon Pagoda —and its insulting re-appropriation as a strategic military location by the colonial authority —made it a focal point of the independence movement. In 1920, students from Rangoon College met here to launch the University Boycott, which we describe in the section about Myoma National High School. A small plaque in the southwestern section of the middle platform commemorates the students who took part in the protest. In 1938, striking oil workers established a camp at the foot of the pagoda, firmly establishing the Shwedagon as a symbolic site of political protest. After the war, and on the eve of Burmese independence, General Aung San gave a rousing speech to a nationalist meeting convened here. Forty-two years later, his daughter would address several hundreds of thousands of demonstrators at a pivotal moment in the democracy movement’s struggle against dictatorship. In 2007, the “‘Saffron Revolution” largely led by monks saw thousands converge towards the pagoda, too.

Today the Shwedagon’s position above Yangon is challenged by tall construction projects. In an attempt to safeguard its towering symbolism, buildings constructed within a one-mile radius of the pagoda must be no more than six storeys high. To further protect the skyline as seen from the downtown area, buildings in the line of sight beyond this radius, to the south, must not exceed the total height of the hill plus the pagoda (approximately 160 metres). This begs the question of where the skyline can best be admired. Downtown’s narrow streetscape prevents clear views in most directions anyway; only from the top of tall buildings and closer up can you really take in the Shwedagon. The top of the Sule Shangri-La or the Sakura Tower offer compelling views. Buildings of a similar height are being built between the Shwedagon and the waterfront (though some of these projects were suspended in February 2015, precisely due to concerns over their proximity to the pagoda). Vista Bar, on West Shwegondaing Road, is a popular venue to watch the stupa glow from up close in the night time. While Yangon’s skyline is likely to change dramatically in the coming years, one thing is sure: none of us will ever experience the magic of the Shwedagon as 19th-century travellers did, slowly approaching the city’s port on ships.

Just opposite the Shwedagon Pagoda’s southern entrance lies another arresting Buddhist place of worship. But the Maha Wizaya Pagoda differs markedly from its bigger and much older neighbour. The main approach from Shwedagon Pagoda Road takes visitors to a rectangular pond with a bridge leading to the pagoda. The hti crowning the golden stupa has 11 tiers, which is two more than the Shwedagon. The pagoda contains Buddhist relics given to Burma by the King of Nepal. Like the Botataung and the Kaba Aye Pagodas, the inside of the stupa is hollow. The Nepali relics are displayed here, in a central shrine. The light-blue dome is adorned with depictions of animals. Painted trees grow up the walls, their leaves made from plastic. Carpets surrounding the shrine are there for visitors to sit on.

The Maha Wizaya Pagoda was built on Ne Win’s orders. As he grew older, the General distanced himself from his earlier commitment to secularism. To some, this was a clear attempt to portray himself as a pagoda-building leader in the style of Burmese kings. Before the “General’s Pagoda” was finished, rumours circulated that upon its opening, Ne Win would be overthrown. He in fact stayed in power for two and a half years after the pagoda’s opening ceremony in February 1986. The pagoda was built by scores of Burmese people from all walks of life. The regime of the time called this “meritorious voluntary service”. Human rights activists called it forced labour.

Here lies one of Myanmar’s most cherished sons. U Thant was the United Nations Secretary-General for two terms, from 1961 to 1971. He was at the helm of the organisation at the height of the Cold War, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of history’s most dangerous geopolitical standoffs. Somewhat secluded, this building stands to the far right of a row of tombs near the southern entrance of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The front walls of the mausoleum are perforated, letting in light and air. A park with a manicured lawn and short hedges surrounds the building.

U Thant was a member of the post-independence and democratic government led by Prime Minister U Nu. After the 1962 coup, relations between U Thant and General Ne Win’s military dictatorship were tense. Ne Win was reportedly convinced that U Thant was using the United Nations as a stage to connive against him and support the deposed U Nu. After U Thant’s death in New York in 1974, his body was sent to Rangoon for the funeral. Ne Win decreed that no official protocol should meet the coffin’s arrival, prompting widespread anger. Students seized the coffin from Kyaikkasan Race Course, where it lay, and brought it to the campus of Yangon University, where the body was guarded by protesters for seven days. The government finally proposed to place the body at its current site, but the students refused and buried it at the Student Union compound. Two days later, at night, troops came to dig up the coffin and placed it here, where the mausoleum now stands.

Tragically, scores died when the military raided the university shortly afterwards, on 11 December 1974. This was an overt attempt to punish the students and deter them from launching further protests. The mausoleum was quickly erected by government engineers—too quickly, perhaps. “U Thant deserves better than that,” says Yangon-based architect U Sun Oo.

U Thant’s grandson, Thant Myint-U, is a writer and diplomat. Raised in the United States, his first visit to Rangoon was to accompany U Thant’s remains. Now a former UN official himself, he moved to Myanmar several years ago and became an adviser to President Thein Sein’s government on the peace process with the country’s ethnic armed groups. He also chairs the Yangon Heritage Trust and plays a crucial role in efforts to preserve the city’s iconic heritage buildings. He has written several popular books on Myanmar’s history and frequently comments on Myanmar affairs in the Western media. His books feature affectionate portraits of his grandfather and their life in New York. Of his passing, he writes that U Thant was “unwell from exhaustion and the stress of work” by the end of his tenure at the helm of the United Nations. In his writings, Thant Myint-U also recalls his grandfather’s life on the other side of the planet, in New York, in a “red-brick house, partly covered in ivy and set on a grassy six-acre hillside along the Hudson River. On the map it was part of Riverdale, but in most other ways it was a small slice of Burma.”

As one of the last buildings in his career, U Kyaw Min’s homage to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s mother speaks a more postmodern language than his adjacent Thakin Kodaw Hmaing Mausoleum. And yet the two stand side by side in harmony. The open design here provides an interesting interplay between space and mass.

Daw Khin Kyi (1912–1988) met General Aung San in 1942, when she was working as a nurse in the Yangon General Hospital. After her husband’s death, followed by Burmese independence, she was elected MP for Lanmadaw township in Yangon and later became Minister for Social Welfare. While prime minister from 1958 to 1960, Ne Win laid the foundations for his eventual takeover in 1962. He was, for example, concerned about opponents with a strong symbolic aura who could one day challenge him. Aung San’s widow was such a figure. He therefore appointed her as ambassador to India in 1960 to remove her from the domestic political scene.

Previously, General Aung San and Nehru were united by their roles in their countries’ struggles for independence. They met several times but their last encounter, in Delhi in 1947, is the most well-known. “Panditji”, as Aung San’s daughter used to call Nehru affectionately, gave the young general warm winter clothes and some advice before his crucial trip to London where Burmese independence was eventually negotiated. When Khin Yi was posted to India, Nehru’s office arranged for her accommodation at 24 Akbar Road, which soon became known as Burma House. Later this bungalow, designed by famous architect Edwin Lutyens, would become the headquarters of the Indian National Congress. Daw Khin Kyi returned to Rangoon in 1967, to her house on University Road. After a long illness, which prompted Aung San Suu Kyi’s fateful return to Burma, she passed away in 1988. Her funeral in early 1989 was attended by more than 100,000 people. It was a pivotal moment in the country’s dramatic and continuing struggle for democracy.

In the 1990 elections, architect U Kyaw Min stood as a member of the opposition National League for Democracy and won his seat in the West Bassein constituency. When SLORC dismissed the results U Kyaw Min, who had already been imprisoned in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was put behind bars once again. In the inhumane conditions of the country’s notorious prisons (of which Insein Prison is the most well known), he contracted a liver disease which plagued him until his death in 1999, shortly after his release.

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing is one of Myanmar’s most celebrated poets. His mausoleum was finished in 1966, two years after his death. The tomb is located inside a strikingly simple and square-shaped concrete building. The dim interior is illuminated mainly by the tall door openings, as well as a skylight. The perforated walls allow light and air to enter. After a period of long neglect, the mausoleum was recently renovated.

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing (1876–1964) moved to Rangoon in the late 19th century. He started out as a playwright and later turned to journalism. He joined the Burmese nationalist cause and became one of its leading public intellectuals. An active proponent of reconciliation between the warring factions in post-independence Burma, he earned the “Stalin Peace Prize” in 1954; this explains the hammer and sickle on the façade of the mausoleum, alongside symbols of a book, a peacock (Myanmar’s national symbol) and a peace dove. The mausoleum’s architect, U Kyaw Min, also designed the adjacent mausoleum of Daw Khin Kyi.

U Kyaw Min was born in 1933. Upon entering his third year at Yangon University’s Engineering College, he was offered a scholarship to study in the US, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from where he obtained an engineering degree in 1957. Upon returning to Myanmar, he spent some time as a lecturer and then set up his private practice in the early 1960s. As the country took a dark turn under Ne Win, this was not a time for lavish private commissions. However, U Kyaw Min built many residential projects for business people who appreciated his expertise and understated style. He was able to incorporate local design elements in his modern architecture, seen here in the mausoleum’s subtle ornamentation.

This school, adjacent to the Methodist English Church, is one of the most prestigious institutions of secondary education in the country. Its alumni include many major figures in Myanmar’s history. The most famous one, of course, is Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who attended the school in the 1950s until 1960 when her mother was appointed Burmese ambassador in New Delhi.

The main three-storey school building is set back from Alan Pya Pagoda Road. Access through its main entrance can prove difficult: school buildings are generally and understandably off limits to visitors in Myanmar. The site is densely built-up, with several other building wings providing space for the pupils. A large open ground at the rear of the school is variously used for parking cars, and as a sports ground.

The building’s post-war appearance belies its age and importance. The history of Dagon’s BEHS 1 goes back more than 100 years, to 1881. The Methodist Women’s Foreign Missionary Society was granted land and funds by the government of British India to build a girls’ school. The location of the school was in the downtown area, in today’s Seikkantha Street. Methodist education at the time was strictly along “national” lines with separate English, Chinese and Burmese schools. The school was successful and attracted a steady stream of pupils. By 1894, it was “full to overflowing”, a problem that was partially addressed—in good colonial fashion—by shortly displacing the Burmese Girls’ School.

Space remained an issue and by 1924, the school gladly accepted the government’s offer of 300,000 rupees for the land, having been gifted it some 40 years earlier. The school immediately invested the money into a new, bigger school on the current site, on the corner of Alan Pya Pagoda and Nawaday Roads. It already owned the land.

Japanese bombs destroyed the new school building in the Second World War. The adjacent church survived relatively unscathed. There is some debate about whether this was a conscious choice, for Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, which was allied to Japan, used the church as its Rangoon headquarters. (That said, Japanese bombs were probably not precise enough to target, or avoid, a building with such accuracy.)

The school reopened in 1947. The few students who returned received their lessons inside the church. A new main building was built under the direction of Methodist missionary Frank Manton and former principal Doreen Logie. Using 1 million US dollars from their “Crusade Fund”, the Methodists completed the new, and current, main building by 1949.

With a prime location opposite the British Embassy residence, this was the school of choice for Rangoon’s westernised intellectual and social elite. When young Aung San Suu Kyi entered MEHS in the 1950s, her father’s fame barely conferred her special status, as Peter Popham notes in his biography of the Burmese democracy icon. As one alumnus told him, “the children of three out of four of our presidents, of Prime Minister U Nu, of many branches of the royal family, of most politicians, of diplomats before there was an international school, and of old money Rangoon aristocracy—they all went to [the] school”. By this time, and as the only missionary school in Rangoon, MEHS was already co-ed. This meant, as the same ex-pupil told Popham, that “our parents were the most progressive, liberal-minded and westernised in Rangoon”. This came at a price—MEHS was a very expensive school, with a tennis court and all the modern amenities.

After Ne Win’s nationalisation campaign, the school received its current name in 1965. It retained its reputation as one of the country’s elite institutions. A new three-storey building facing Nawaday Road was added in 1986. Today the school has more than 6,000 pupils, making it one of the biggest in Myanmar. Its alumni are scattered around the world and hold regular reunions.

When China’s then-President Li Xiannian visited Burma in 1985, he offered the country this theatre building. Plans were drawn up and construction began in 1987 with the help of Chinese engineers. Construction work stopped during the 1988 uprising, but resumed the year after. The building was finished in December 1990 and opened the following month. Although construction was agreed before the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) took power in 1988, the theatre became a mainstay of the authoritarian regime and its emphasis on “safeguarding” Myanmar culture and heritage to mould a sense of national identity. Thus the theatre was principally used for traditional cultural shows such as dance and musical performances. With a capacity for about 1,300 spectators, the National Theatre is one of the best-equipped theatres in the region and features comparatively modern stage technology.

China remained one of Burma’s few allies post-1988. When visiting the construction site in 1989, SLORC First Secretary Khin Nyunt remarked that his government “sympathise[s] with the People’s Republic of China as disturbances similar to those that took place in Myanmar during 1988 broke out there”. He thanked China for sending engineers while Myanmar suffered from the consequences of the “disturbance”. Chinese Secretary-General of the State Council Luo Gan attended the opening ceremony in January 1991. The Chinese government also provided manpower and equipment for maintenance of the theatre during the following years and granted 1.5 million US dollars to renovate the building in 2004, just 13 years after its completion. Another Chinese gift nearby is the Tatmadaw Hall, an exhibition centre on U Wizara Road.