Yangon might be Myanmar’s main metropolis, but it is the royal city of Mandalay whose very name resonates with literary romance. This thriving central hub is thought of as something of a cultural capital, famed for its writers, artists, theatre performers and comedians. 

Its literary reputation extends internationally, thanks largely to the eponymous poem by Rudyard Kipling. He famously never actually visited the city — he wrote the piece after a brief stop in Mawlamyine on his way back to Britain from India. The poem conjured visions of a faraway land, glittering with golden pagodas, ruled by cheroot-smoking monarchs and full of graceful Burmese beauties. 

Here’s an excerpt:

For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
“Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!”  

When the British did reach Mandalay in 1885, it was to annex the country as it reached the pinnacle of empire. King Thibaw, Myanmar’s last king, was promptly dispatched with his family to distant Ratnagiri in India, where he spent the rest of his life in bewildered exile. 

The royal palace, constructed between 1857 - 1861 by Thibaw’s father King Mindon, was the last one to be built by the Myanmar royals. During colonial rule, it was commandeered by the British and became known as Fort Dufferin. It was largely destroyed during the ferocious bombardment the Allies unleashed during the Japanese invasion in World War II. 

Replica buildings have replaced many of those original structures and now the compound, surrounded by its elegant moat, is still occupied — this time by the Myanmar army. While much of the palace is out of bounds to civilians, visitors are allowed to wander around some areas. 

The Mandalay region, home to over six million people, is much more than the city that bears its name. 

Centuries-old Buddhist traditions and heritage in the region is epitomised by Bagan, whose splendour makes it a favourite with both local and foreign tourists. 

Nearby Mount Popa, an extinct volcano, is the headquarters of 37 nat spirits; Amarapura boasts the world’s largest teak bridge; Pyin Oo Lwin is a temperate hill station in a region notorious for its heat; and there is Mogok, where the highly sought after pigeon blood rubies come from.  

The region is deeply Buddhist, with 95.7% identifying themselves as followers of Buddhism in the 2014 census. 

It is also a place where one can see vividly the contrast between the ambitious energy and breathless construction of new Myanmar and the traditionally more languid pace of life. 

Gleaming new malls, hotels and apartment blocks are crowding the skyline of Mandalay city. With an international airport and highway links to the borders with China, India and Thailand, Mandalay has become an increasingly important trading post in the past decade. This has led to a large and growing community of economic immigrants from China.

Agriculture is still the second largest industry in the region - 30 percent of the GDP - but research shows the region is transitioning to industry (28 percent) and services (42 percent). But bullock carts are still the third most popular mode of transport (28%) after mopeds (58.2%). 

Mandalay is one of the more developed among the states and regions in Myanmar and has a high literacy rate (93.8%) yet it would be wrong to see the region as homogenous. 

While literacy is high at 93.8%, the 2014 census found there are almost half a million people aged 5 and above who have never attended school. 

More than 1 in 5 people age 10 years and above in Mandalay Region do not have any form of identification. Of the 1.1 million people without any type of ID cards, more than two-thirds (784,394) are in rural areas.