Mingun Paya

Mingun Paya was built by Myanmar King Badawpaya for his departed queen. It was planed to be built as a palace pagoda with a height of 160 meters, some 48 meters higher than Shwedagon Pagoda of Yangon. As the project was designed to be too huge that it was only finished one third after 11 years’ construction when the king passed away. After the passing of the king, the construction stopped and in 1938, the pagoda was cracked in a strong earthquake. Though being unfinished, the majestic Mingun Pagoda is still the largest Buddhism pagoda relic in Myanmar and the largest brick-making architecture in the world. The body of the paya is a massive cuboid in dark claybank but with a white gate. It is said that the cultural value of Mingun Paya is equal as a world-class relic, even not second to that of Egyptian pyramids.