Mandalay

City (pop., 1993 est.: 885,300, central Myanmar (Burma), situated on the Irrawaddy River.
It is the nation's second largest city, after Yangôn. It was built in 1857 by King Mindon to replace Amarapura as his capital. The last capital of the Myanmar kingdom, it fell to Britain in 1885. It was nearly destroyed during the Japanese occupation in World War II. An important Buddhist religious centre, it is the site of the famous Mahamuni pagoda and of 730 pagodas that house marble tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures.

Irrawaddy River

River, Myanmar (Burma).
It flows 1,350 mi (2,170 km) across the centre of the country and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The country's most important commercial waterway, it is formed by the confluence of the Nmai and the Mali rivers; in the central dry zone it is joined by its major tributary, the Chindwin River. Chief ports are Mandalay, Chauk, Prome (Pyè), and Henzada.