"Well, I'm not wrong, you won't regret coming here. The splendid Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, known as a jewel of oriental art along with the Borobudur Pagoda in Indonesia and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is a world-renowned stupa and a national symbol of Myanmar. The majestic and architecturally exquisite Shwedagon Pagoda is not only a masterpiece of world architectural art, but also a pagoda with a long history and high value in the world. During festivals, many people come here to worship the Buddha, and people must walk barefoot when entering the stupa, even the head of state, otherwise it is regarded as the greatest disrespect to the Buddha. ”

It can be heard from Mao Shifa's tone that as a Burmese, he also has a strong sense of pride in Myanmar, after all, no matter what, he is now a Burmese, what his ancestors are, for him, he can be remembered, but he can't deny his current identity because of that.

Zhang Tianyuan smiled, as if he was as proud of the Terracotta Warriors as he was from Shaanzhou, and he could understand Mao Shifa's feelings. However, Serenin didn't seem to be convinced, saying that the Great Wall of the imperial capital and the terracotta warriors and horses were much better than the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, and the history was even longer.

Of course, the words of the snake lin are not wrong, but it is absolutely impossible to deny the excellence of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, when the car approaches, the feeling is even more obvious, the small person standing under the tall pagoda, seems to be illuminated by the light of the Buddha, Zhang Tianyuan can even feel that the earth qi has a look of wanting to rush out, and the Buddha in the golden pagoda, forming an echo.

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, which is more than 100 meters high. Standing at the bottom, people are as small as ants, because Yangon's mobile phone signal is much better than that of Naypyidaw. Therefore, Zhang Tianyuan checked the information with his mobile phone and found that the accurate height of the tower body of the Shwedagon Pagoda is 112 meters, and the base of the tower is 115 square meters.

The body of the tower is pasted with more than 1,000 pieces of pure gold leaf, and the gold used weighs seven tons, which is really brilliant. It seems that Zhang Tianyuan still misunderstood before, thinking that the gold was just gold-colored paint, and now he knows how lonely he is.

And that's not all. There are more than 150,000 gold and silver bells hanging around this big pagoda, and the wind blows the bells, which are crisp and pleasant, and the sound spreads in all directions. The top of the tower is all made of gold. There are more than 1,000 kilograms of metal umbrellas on it. It is surrounded by 664 rubies, 551 jadeites and 443 diamonds.

The whole golden pagoda is shining, Yongrong is luxurious, majestic and magnificent, giving people a very strong sense of visual impact, especially after reading these materials, Zhang Tianyuan can't help but sigh. This is simply a "pagoda" in the true sense of the word, compared to the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army. Naturally, it is a little heroic, but this local heroism is not annoying, but it is quite satisfying to watch.

This time Zhang Tianyuan and the three of them took a taxi in Yangon, which was much better than Naypyidaw, although this car was still a classic car left over from the British colonial period, but later it was equipped with on-board air conditioning, which was quite good.

It is true that the Burmese believe in Buddhism, that is really true, after the driver parked the car near the Shwedagon Pagoda, he actually stood in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda with his hands folded, chanted words in his mouth, and worshiped together for more than a minute before nodding to each other, and then the driver drove away, and Mao Shifa realized that he had neglected Zhang Tianyuan.

Zhang Tianyuan didn't care, because when Mao Shifa worshipped, he was also admiring the surrounding scenery, and only after Mao Shifa came over did he smile: "Brother Mao also believes in Buddhism?"

"Almost everyone in Myanmar believes in Buddhism, even if we are Chinese, we have gradually followed the trend, foreign religion is difficult to spread here, Boss Zhang is a scholar, I believe you have also heard of the poem 'Southern Dynasty 480 Temple', it is said that there are more people who believe in Buddhism and worship Buddha in the Southern Dynasty, but compared with Myanmar, it is simply a small thing. "When it comes to Buddhism in Myanmar, Mao Shifa is absolutely the way.

"How many?" asked Zhang Tianyuan.

"In the most frenzied era of tower building, according to the research of Western scholars, there were once 13,000 stupas standing on the Bagan Plain. The folklore of Bagan, known as the "City of Four Thousand Pagodas", became the center of Burmese culture and religion in the 12th century. Today, on the desolate plains, only 2,230 ancient pagodas and 416 ancient temples remain. Even with the addition of some remnants, there are only about 5,000 monuments. But compared to the 'Southern Dynasty 480 Temple', it is too much. Mao Shifa replied.

"Oh, I see, let's go around the tower first, you tell me about Myanmar and Buddhism by the way, I've heard people say before, it seems that many people in Myanmar believe in Buddhism, is this true?"

Mao Shifa talked about these things, it was definitely very enthusiastic, and he was very able to say, it is estimated that from childhood to adulthood, these things have been deeply implanted in his mind, every country has education, and in Myanmar, you can feel the far-reaching influence of Buddhism since childhood.

Basically, it can be said that Myanmar and Thailand are both relatively loyal countries in the world that believe in Buddhism, and Buddhism has been introduced to Myanmar for more than 2,500 years, and it is estimated that more than 80% of the people in the country believe in Buddhism.

There are many pagodas, many temples, and many monks are the three major characteristics of Myanmar Buddhist culture. It is an honor for children to be "adults" and respected by society from now on. In the streets and alleys of Myanmar, you can see monks wearing robes and holding black umbrellas anytime and anywhere, there are more than 100,000 monks in the country, there are more than 20,000 monks in Yangon and Mandalay alone, and one in an average of 300 people is a monk.

The greatest wish of the Burmese people in life is to donate money to repair the pagoda. They are reluctant to eat or wear in their lives, and when they die, they donate all their savings to build a pagoda. Burmese Buddhists believe. Building a stupa can benefit a lifetime and cultivate blessings for future lives. According to statistics, there are more than 100,000 large and small stupas in the country. Therefore. Myanmar is also known as the "Land of Pagodas".

Shwedagon Pagoda was built in 585 and was only 20 meters high when it was first built. In the 15th century, King Debin Ruiti renovated the tower with four times the weight of him and his queen and a large number of precious stones. The height of the tower is 112 meters, and it was built in 1774 by King Sinphyushin, the son of King Anupaya, and a new golden umbrella was installed on the top of the tower. This Shwedagon Pagoda is also a masterpiece of Myanmar pagoda. It is a masterpiece of Buddhist architectural art in the world, and it is also the oldest and most expensive pagoda in the world.

The base of the golden pagoda has a circumference of 427 meters, and the top of the tower has a finely crafted metal canopy. There are 1,065 gold bells and 420 silver bells hanging on the eaves, and 7,000 rare red and sapphire diamond balls, among which there is a famous gold and steel diamond weighing 76 carats. The body of the tower has been gilded many times. The gold on it weighs 7,000 kilograms. Shwedagon Pagoda is surrounded by 68 smaller pagodas. These small pagodas are made of wood or stone, some resemble bells, some resemble boats, and come in different shapes, and each of them has a jade carved Buddha statue in its niche. The Fuhui Temple on the left side of the Shwedagon Pagoda is a Chinese-style temple, which was built with donations from local overseas Chinese during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, and has become an important part of the ancient building group in the Shwedagon Pagoda area.

"No kidding. I thought the gems and gold on it were fake, but they were real?"

Although the snake has come to Yangon quite a few times. But he used to come on a mission, so he had never studied what this Shwedagon Pagoda was made of, but he thought that this thing was very good-looking, and he always thought that the gems and gold on it were fake, but after listening to Mao Shifa talk about the Shwedagon Pagoda, he was shocked.

Zhang Tianyuan is not concerned about these gems and gold, his appreciation angle is slightly different, that is, the overall feeling of the building, in fact, if you only talk about the construction process, this Yangon Shwedagon Pagoda is not as good as many buildings in China, if you talk about the long history, it is not too old, after all, now this Shwedagon Pagoda is basically a new one built later, and the shadow of the original old tower is almost gone.

But even so, when these gems are combined with the whole tower, they do not look vulgar, but have a very solemn feeling, which is very rare.

There is a saying in our country: if you don't reach the Great Wall, you are not a hero. When you go to Myanmar, how can you say that you have been to Myanmar without seeing the splendor of the Shwedagon Pagoda? Even in Myanmar, which is known as the Buddha country of the Vandala Pagoda, the grandeur of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is unique. It is a place that Burmese people must come to worship in their lifetime. Unlike Tibetan Buddhism, where the head is long, the Burmese show their greatest respect for the Buddha by donating life-size gold bricks or pasting gold on the pagoda.

According to legend, in 585 B.C., there was a famine in India, and two brothers named Kogada Putuo carried a boatload of rice to relieve the victims, and they met the Buddha Shakyamuni under the sacred Bodhi tree in India, and the Buddha gave them 8 hairs, and told the two brothers that the Buddha's hair should be buried with the three Buddha relics that were originally buried in Dingudala Mountain.

The relics of the three Buddhas refer to the staff that detains the Buddha Sun, the water filter that holds the Buddha, and the robe of the Buddha Kasya.

With the help of the temple, the two brothers found the Three Buddha Relics, buried the Three Buddha Relics and the eight hairs of the Buddha in a ruby box, and built a stupa on top of it for people to admire, which was the predecessor of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Therefore, the Shwedagon Pagoda is also known as the "Four Buddha Relic Pagoda", and the legend that the four Buddha relics are buried together makes the Shwedagon Pagoda a holy place for Buddhists, and the incense is vigorous and famous for more than 2,000 years.

In the southeast corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda, there is a Bodhi tree, which is said to have been transplanted from the sacred tree next to the throne of Shakyamuni Vajra in India.

In the surroundings of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the Buddha Hall Buddha Hall Buddha Pavilion Buddha Shrine is adjacent to each other, the Buddha statue is very different from other Buddhist countries, solemn and gorgeous, in the entire Indochina Peninsula in various Buddhist countries, the stupa made of pure gold is not uncommon, but the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon has become a Buddhist holy place with its grand scale, gorgeous shape, long history, and sacred legends; It is an outstanding example of architectural art in human history, and has a direct and substantial connection with traditional thought, belief and art, and for all these reasons, the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar is included in the World Cultural Heritage List.

The feeling that Shwedagon Pagoda gave Zhang Tianyuan was "amazing". (To be continued......)