Ma Soe Yein Nu Kyaung

Mandalay


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 accommodation and lecture halls. It does sport a ‘Big Ben’ clock and a unique six-storey octagonal library tower topped with a great viewpoint. The monastery has long been noted for the politically forthright views of its monks, and it's the base of controversial monk Ashin Wirathu, figurehead of the anti-Muslim nationalist 969 movement.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Mandalay attractions

1. Library Tower

0.03 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)…

2. Shwe In Bin Kyaung

0.19 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…

3. Jade Market

0.19 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…

4. Thingaza Kyaung

0.68 MILES

This appealingly lived-in monastery has some photogenically dilapidated teak buildings. Tucked behind the tagondain (pillar topped with a golden duck) is…

5. Setkyathiha Paya

0.98 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,…

6. Marble Workshops

1.02 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,…

7. Mahamuni Paya

1.05 MILES

Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…

8. Chanthaya Paya

1.08 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.