Burma / Myanmar: Pagodas at Sagaing seen from the Irrawaddy / Ayeyarwady River, near Mandalay

Sagaing is the capital of Sagaing Region (formerly Sagaing Division) in Myanmar. Located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 km to the southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing with many Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the 240 m hill. Sagaing was the capital of the Sagaing Kingdom (1315-1364), one of the minor kingdoms that rose up after the fall of the Pagan dynasty. During the Ava period (1364-–1555), the city was the common fief of the crown prince or senior princes. The city briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763 in the reign of King Naungdawgyi.