A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists and locals. Commissioned in 1895 by a pair of wealthy Chinese jade merchants, the central building stands on tree-trunk poles and the interior has a soaring dark majesty. Balustrades and roof cornices are covered in detailed engravings, a few of them mildly humorous.
© Mongkolchon Akesin/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Shwe In Bin Kyaung
Top choice in Mandalay
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.34 MILES
To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a…
10.27 MILES
This lovely 1834 teak monastery is Inwa’s most memorable individual attraction. It's supported on 267 teak posts, the largest 60ft high and 9ft in…
1.25 MILES
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
26.06 MILES
Founded in 1915 and carved out by Turkish prisoners captured by the British during WWI, this lovingly maintained 435-acre botanical garden features more…
6.91 MILES
Staring distantly towards Mandalay Palace, temple-topped Yankin Hill is worth climbing for views of greater Mandalay's rice-field setting and of the Shan…
5.17 MILES
The world’s longest teak footbridge gently curves 1300yd across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites. In dry season…
6.48 MILES
This ‘early offering shrine’ is the most important of the temples on Sagaing Hill’s southern crown and the first you’ll come to on climbing the One Lion…
6.66 MILES
At the foot of the great temple-studded hills of Sagaing, you’ll find this little-visited cave monastery. Supposedly built around the 1670s, Tilawkaguru…
Nearby Mandalay attractions
0.19 MILES
Across the creek from Shwe In Bin, the city's largest monastery lacks an ancient historical pedigree and is primarily a collection of modern dorm…
0.2 MILES
This octagonal library tower houses religious scripts and manuscripts (but not the old, dusty, ancient kind, or at least, not any on show to the public)…
0.38 MILES
Rock dust and cheroot smoke fill the air in this heaving grid of cramped walkways, where you'll find a mass of jade traders haggling, hawking and…
0.49 MILES
This appealingly lived-in monastery has some photogenically dilapidated teak buildings. Tucked behind the tagondain (pillar topped with a golden duck) is…
0.91 MILES
This pagoda's claim to fame – besides its gold stupa – is a Buddha image that supposedly dates to the reign of Indian emperor Ashoka.
0.93 MILES
Mostly hidden behind shopfronts, this large elevated pagoda complex includes a ‘golden rock’ lookalike and an enormous sacred bodhi tree planted by U Nu,…
1.14 MILES
Ranged around a sizeable stupa glowing with gold leaf, Eindawa was founded in 1847 by King Pagan Min, whose princely palace once stood here. The complex…
1.21 MILES
Lining the Sagaing–Mandalay road, just southeast of Mahamuni Paya, is workshop after workshop (an estimated 75 in total) where you can see (or purchase,…