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Introduction:
The monuments seem to overwhelm the landscape. There are about 2,000 of them covering an area of 16 square miles on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady in central Myanmar. They are in different sizes and in a bewildering variety of shapes. They are also in varying stages of preservation and disrepair. Some of them throb with life, visited by devotees, a few have become little more than piles of bricks.
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History:
According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century CE, and fortified in 849 CE by King Pyinbya, 34th successor of the founder of early Bagan. Mainstream scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by the Mranma , who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.
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Getting There:
Compulsory registration upon entry to the Bagan Archaelogical Zone has ended as of July 4, 2013, the Bagan cultural authority has introduced a single 5-day pass to the Cultural Zone for US$ 15/15 EUR or 16,000 kyat. Since the USD is the best value of those options, it is best to bring the required amount in USD before arriving. A officer will stop your car/taxi and ask to buy the ticket when our enter the designated area. If you are lucky to enter that area without buying it, it will not be asked again except at the entrance of a couple of temples.
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