It turns out that for some time the government had secretly been constructing a capital in the middle of the nowhere called Naypyidaw (“abode of kings”); a way for the government to escape the congestion and chaos of Rangoon and have a purpose-built capital in which everything would be under their control. Naypyidaw covers a sprawling 4,800 km2 (1,853 sq. mi.) – that’s 78 times the size of Manhattan! It’s spread out like that on purpose in order to keep government officials, labourers, and civilians separated from each other. Walking anywhere conveniently is deliberately impossible.

At the centre of Naypyidaw is the huge government complex,which houses the legislature (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw), the 100-room presidential palace, and the city hall among its 31 different buildings. All are built in a Stalinist style but with Burmese-style roofs.

Going north from the government complex, the various ministry buildings are strung out along a distance of 13 km (8 miles). Each building sits on its own private acreage, and is powered by electricity generated in its own private reservoir. Naypyidaw is the only city in the country with continuous 24-hour electricity.

Housing for workers is carefully assigned according to ministry, rank, and marital status. Government employees live in four-story colour-coded apartment complexes. Fox example, blue apartments are for Ministry of Health employees and green for Agriculture employees. The lower down the totem pole a worker is, the more crowded the neighbourhood gets, such as the oppressive grid formation of Pobba Thiri.

Along with government buildings and housing, the government has spent a large amount of money on civic amenities, museums, sculptures, shopping centres, and ceremonial facilities, such as this large stadium under construction, and a massive shopping mall located across the expressway from the new national parade ground.

One of the most ornate buildings in the new capital is the Uppatasanti Pagoda, completed in 2009. It rises 99 m (325 feet) above the surrounding grassland.

30 km (19 mi) from the centre Naypyidaw – but still within the city – are the Naypyidaw Zoo, the Naypyidaw Safari Park, and the sprawling Naypyidaw Botanical Gardens, all along the shores of yet another of the city’s many reservoirs. If the botanical gardens seem from above as though they’re irregularly shaped, that’s because they’re designed as a scaled-down model of the shape of the entire country.

If a lot of these facilities seem as though they’re designed to attract tourists to the new city, that’s because they are – to a degree. For example, almost all accommodation in the Naypyidaw is restricted to the city’s hotel zone, a string of rather ornate hotels at the southern gateway to the city located along a massive expressway that still manages to have almost no traffic along it; a common theme throughout the city. One expressway connecting the parade ground to the city market is twenty lanes wide.

Tourists and workers alike are completely restricted from the mountain area beyond the botanical gardens, where the country’s top military personnel live in blocks of purpose-built mansions. And nothing tops the palace of the recently retired dictator, Than Shwe.

Despite the massive amount of money poured into Naypyidaw, most of its people remain in slums; Old villages surrounded by the buildings and highways of the city. For example, the headquarters of the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party sit across another empty expressway from a rather crowded traditional village. Just one of the many surreal scenes in a surreal place.

Locations: Burma / Categories: Buildings, Monuments, Stadiums and Sport, Structures

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An article in the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Burmese defectors that a nuclear reactor was being constructed near Naung Laing, which happens to be just 3 miles SE of this location.

The suspicious building appears to have large power cable connections, and there could well be security checkpoints on the surrounding roads, so perhaps the Burmese do have something to hide here?

Of course, none of this actually means there’s anything exciting going on at the building, it could still be an innocent sports hall.

So, is anyone convinced that we’ve got a nuclear bunker? What other things can you spot that might prove that it is a secret reactor or bomb factory?

Thanks to Arms Control Wonk, ISIS, Ogle Earth

Locations: Burma / Categories: Buildings, Structures

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The statue alone is 128m tall, and it stands on a 20m tall lotus throne, which in turn stands on a 25m tall pedestal – giving the structure a total height of 153m.

The statue – including the lotus throne – is 128m tall. Its original 25m tall pedestal gave the structure a total height of 153m. However, recent information shows that the hill it was built on has been constructed into an additional pedestal. The total height is now believed to be 208m. Panoramio has several pictures, and this image in particular gives you a sense of just how immense this monument is (and shows the new pedestal under construction.)

Little is known about the Spring Temple Buddha in the West, so it likely wasn’t listed on Wikipedia when Alex wrote the original post. It was constructed in 2002 in response to Taliban bombing of Buddha statues in Afghanistan, as well as to thwart Indian plans to create the world’s largest statue.  I haven’t been able to find any vital statistics about it, but this image seems to show that the toes alone are close to 2m high.

The world’s second largest statue is the Laykyun Setkyar in Myanmar, which is so new (completed in 2008) that we only see it partially constructed on Google Maps.

At 116m on a 13.5m pedestal it is barely taller in total than the Spring Temple statue alone. Panoramio has a few pictures of the completed structure, which also show that it is, interestingly, located near a reclining Buddha which, at 90m in length, would probably be the world’s 9th tallest statue if it was upright.

As it is also located in a somewhat secretive country, detailed statistics are similarly hard to find. The regime consistently claims it is the world’s largest though, despite evidence to the contrary.

The world’s third largest statue is Ushiku Daibutsu in Japan. It was featured in the original Very Large Buddhas post, though there is new imagery that shows it in greater detail.

Thanks to Lukasz for the link to the reclining Buddha, and to Alex for letting me update his original post.

Locations: Burma, China, Japan / Categories: Buildings, Monuments, Structures

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The original stupa (a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics) was built sometime around the 6th century, although Buddhists believe that it’s nearer 2500 years old.

It has certainly been rebuilt numerous times, and reached it current height of 98m sometime in the 15th century.

Also starting around that time, the entire surface of the pagoda was covered in real gold. The bling gets blingier too, with the top section featuring 5,448 diamonds, 2,317 rubies, and one massive 76 carat diamond!

The pagoda has had a long history as a political arena, most recently in September 2007 during nationwide demonstrations against the oppressive military regime. At least 5 people died during clashes between security forces and thousands of protesters led by the Buddhist monks.

Find out more at Wikipedia.

Thanks to Justin Lee and SFHandyman.

Locations: Burma / Categories: Buildings, Monuments

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The jail is pronounced as “Insane Prison”, which seems to be an appropriate name due to the inhumane conditions and torture tactics.

More on the prison and the ongoing protests in Burma from the BBC.

Locations: Burma / Categories: Buildings

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