Burma/ Myanmar: A beautiful Buddha statue remains standing in a ruined temple in Amarapura, central Burma, c.1920s.

Pali for 'The City of Immortality', Amarapura was the capital of Burma for three periods during the Konbaung dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries before finally being supplanted by Mandalay, just 11km north, in 1857.

King Bodawpaya (1781–1819) of the Konbaung Dynasty founded Amarapura as his new capital in 1783, soon after he ascended the throne. In 1795, he received the first British embassy to Burma from the British East India Company led by Michael Symes.

From 1841-1857, King Mindon (r.1853–78) decided to make Amarapura the capital again before relocating to his planned city of Mandalay in 1860.

Today little remains of the old city as the palace buildings were dismantled and moved by elephant to the new location, and the city walls were pulled down for use as building materials for roads and railways. Part of the moat is still recognisable near Bagaya Monastery. The city is known today for its traditional silk and cotton weaving, and bronze casting. It is a popular tourist day-trip destination from Mandalay.

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