Those 1-sq-in gold-leaf sheets that worshippers piously place on sacred buddha images are laboriously hand-pounded in dozens of specialist workshops in this two-block area. Two main-street souvenir showrooms, King Galon and Golden Rose, have English-speaking staff who'll patiently talk you through the process while muscled gold-beaters demonstrate the hypnotic (for observers), physically draining movements that sound like the rhythms of gamelan music. It’s free and fascinating, and the sales pitch is pretty casual.
Gold-Pounders’ District
Mandalay
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.59 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…
11.18 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…
1.19 MILES
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
24.77 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…
5.64 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…
5.59 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…
1.29 MILES
A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists…
7.53 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…
Nearby Mandalay attractions
0.79 MILES
This former fire-lookout tower sits next to the main Mandalay fire station. Unfortunately, it can't be climbed.
0.96 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,…
0.99 MILES
This temple's colourful, sculpture-crusted gopuram (monumental tower) will excite you if you’ve never been to southern India or Singapore.
1.03 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…
1.07 MILES
This mosque is not a tourist attraction per se, but it has been the site of tense confrontation when anti-Muslim anger has been stoked in the past. The…
1.15 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)…
1.15 MILES
Founded in the 19th century, this is Mandalay's main Catholic church. It has some historical charm from the colonial period, and is a good place to meet…
1.18 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…