Located in the territory of the ancient city of Amarapura in Mandalay, built during the reign of King Min Dong of the Gongbang Dynasty and across the East Taman Lake, the Uben Bridge is famous for its sunset and is a famous attraction that attracts tourists from all over the world to take pictures.

The 100-year-old teak bridge teak is one of Myanmar's most precious treasures, and the clever Burmese people have used it extensively in house construction or carving.

"It's quite special here, and the Burmese people who are deeply influenced by Buddhist ideas see it as a spiritual totem of marriage and family, and are called the Love Bridge by the local people of Myanmar. ”

"It also attracts a lot of young couples who believe that wishing here can come true, holding hands and standing on the bridge together to watch the sunset, the girl leaning on the boy's shoulder, very sweet, really enviable!"

It is the longest teak bridge in the world, the piers, bridges, and planks of the bridge are all made of precious teak, and there are 6 small pavilions for people to rest on the bridge.

Standing on the Wuben Bridge to watch the sunset, there is a trace of returning to the poetry and painting, the remnant sun in the distant sky is like fire, burning from the water to the sky, painting all the surroundings with a layer of golden red, at this time, you will feel that the dead trees and boats in the distance, as if floating in the painting, occasionally you will hear the familiar melody played by the guitar and the accompanying Burmese singing.

Zhou Sen looked at the scenery in the distance and said lightly: "The scenery here is really beautiful, everything is as beautiful as a painting, very quiet, people's hearts are very peaceful, very quiet, and with the smell of fireworks, where there are people, you can hear the sound of the surrounding crowd talking, people's laughter and the sound of surrounding vehicles, and it is not too loud, it will not interfere with your enjoyment of the distant scenery." ”

Thayer nodded, "Yes, the boatman on the East Taman Lake, only needs to spend a few dozen yuan, you can feel the artistic conception of boating, a farming scene under the Lover's Bridge, in the afterglow of the sunset, the figure of the lover on the bridge is reflected, I will take you to experience it!"

When Zhou Sen followed Thayer onto the boat and sat in the middle of the boat, he looked at the scenery in front of him and was even more emotional.

After continuous wind and rain washing, the sunlight shines in the lake, the wood gradually turns into light gray, not only the scenic spots, but also the daily traffic path of the local people, in the rainy season with abundant rainfall, the lake rises, many residents on the bridge or stand or sit, waiting for the fish in the lake to take the bait, and the monks in the dusk hurry, everything seems so natural and harmonious.

"It looks really harmonious here, people and scenery blend together naturally, and it looks like there is a sense of beauty!" Zhou Sen said.

"Yes!" Thayer nodded, "This bridge is called teak bridge, the bridge deck is all made of teak, Myanmar is the world's best and largest teak production area, teak is moth-resistant and rot-resistant, it is the best wood, Myanmar has a landing visa for Chinese tourists, and there will be many tourists who come to Ubon Bridge to watch this beautiful sunset." ”

"I'll take you to see the Golden Buddha again, it's quite distinctive, you must have seen it!" Thayer smiled.

Zhou Sen took everyone to follow Thayer to the next scenic spot, Mahmuduni Pagoda is also known as the Great Golden Buddha, the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the temple is about 4 meters high, and the whole body is covered with gold leaf, for pious men and women and tourists from all over the world to come to worship, but women can only admire in the outer hall, can not get close to the Buddha's body.

"Why is that?" Zhou Sen was puzzled.

Thayer said: "Myanmar is still a bit patriarchal, and women are still discriminated against, so they can't get too close to the Buddha!"

"Maybe this is where Myanmar and Laos are backward, and the more economically backward they are, the more difficult it is to achieve equality between men and women!"

Maha Gang Dayong Monastery is a monastery that has not been established for a long time, but it has the largest number of monks in Myanmar, ranging in age from 12-year-old novice to 65-year-old abbot, and the daily meals in the monastery are worshiped by believers.

Looking down from the southeast entrance of Mandalay Mountain, the merit tablet is circled into a square, this pagoda known as "the world's largest book" takes the stone tablet as the page, the front and back are engraved with dense Burmese and ancient scriptures, Zhou Sen looked down, the text on it, he couldn't understand it at all, or through Thayer's translation, he only knew a little.

In that year, King Mindong once summoned thousands of monks to recite the scriptures in a relay manner, and it took six months to complete this vast book.

At dusk, the drizzle brought by the rainy season spreads out, setting off the solemn feeling here, walking barefoot, the white pagodas surround the stone monument, reach out to touch the cool stone tablet, follow the curly carved scriptures, feel the pious temperature at that time.

The Burmese people, who believe in Theravada Buddhism, have built large and small stupas with great sincerity and respect, proclaiming the greatness of the Buddha.

Looking at the temples here and the shabby monks' robes of the little monks, Zhou Sen's heart rose with sympathy for them.

Although their meager income is not even enough to cope with their daily life, they are willing to put the whole focus of their lives, even money, into the stupa, to walk barefoot to express their respect for the Buddha, to add gold leaf to the Buddha, they believe that the devotion to the Buddha in this life will be transferred back to the next life, and continue to be protected by the gods and Buddhas, this belief is deeply rooted in their hearts, and they bow down in front of the Buddha statue, appearing so devout.

In the temple of 1,000 monks in Mandalay, you can see such a picture every day, the monks go out to the dervishes at the beginning of dawn, and then gather the food from the dervishes, and when the time comes, two long lines of monks will receive the food in order, and they will tie the robes tightly around their arms during the meal, representing the importance and gratitude of the believers for their generosity.

Vendors outside the Mahmuduni Stupa sell handicrafts and Buddhist knick-knacks, and if you want to buy ivory or stone pagodas, the jade carver's workshop west of the pagoda is cheaper.

Mandalay's handicrafts are very cheap, with marionettes available for a few dollars, as well as a traditional weaving silk and other antiques, and a large number of Burmese-made goods, including handicrafts, fill the two modern buildings and are placed on the surrounding sidewalks.

There are also many street performances, as well as performances by theatre troupes, which have been performing traditional Burmese folk opera for more than 30 years.

The performances here are very straightforward, one after the other on a small stage made of wooden slats, with more than a dozen plastic chairs a meter away from the stage.

The once-famous troupe has withdrawn from public performances, and the colloquial language used in its original burlesque scenes has been changed from Burmese to English, or with some European influences, the actors are still fluent in English, as well as Burmese historical dramas, traditional dances and music, etc., which have touched Zhou Sen deeply.

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