Mandalay

Mandalay မန္တလေး
City
From top: Mahamuni Buddha Temple, cultural conservation zones around Mandalay Hill, U Bein Bridge, Zegyo Market, Mandalarthiri Stadium, the Mandalay Palace
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Mandalay Location of Mandalay, Myanmar Show map of Myanmar Mandalay Mandalay (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 21°58′59″N 96°05′04″E / 21.98306°N 96.08444°E / 21.98306; 96.08444
Country	Myanmar
Region	Mandalay Region
District	Mandalay District
Founded by	King Mindon
Government
• Mayor	Kyaw San
Area [1]
• City	163.84 km2 (63.26 sq mi)
Elevation	22 m (70 ft)
Population  (2014 Census)[2]
• City	1,726,889
• Density	11,000/km2 (27,000/sq mi)
• Urban	1,319,452
• Rural	407,437
• Ethnic groups	Bamar Chinese Shan & other minorities
• Religions	Theravada Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam
Demonym	Mandalayan
Time zone	UTC+6:30 (MMT)
Area code	02[3]
Vehicle registration	MDY

Mandalay (/ˌmændəˈleɪ/ or /ˈmændəleɪ/; Burmese: မန္တလေး; MLCTS: manta.le: [mándəlé]) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 miles; road distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census).

Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, replacing Amarapura as the new royal capital of the Konbaung dynasty. It was Burma's final royal capital before the kingdom's annexation by the British Empire in 1885. Under British rule, Mandalay remained commercially and culturally important despite the rise of Yangon, the new capital of British Burma. The city suffered extensive destruction during the Japanese conquest of Burma in the Second World War. In 1948, Mandalay became part of the newly independent Union of Burma.

Today, Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Myanmar and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of irregular Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, since the late 20th century, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China.^{[4][5][dead link]} Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Myanmar's main commercial, educational and health center.