8,688 solid gold plates make up the exterior of the Shwedagon Pagoda’s 320-foot stupa, topped off with more than 5,000 diamonds and about 2,300 rubies, sapphire and topaz. That the treasures remain untouched even in the midst of Yangon’s poverty shows the kind of respect that the Shwedagon Pagoda commands.
The 2,500-year-old Pagoda houses relics from the past four Buddhas, including eight hairs from Gautama Buddha himself. Its unique location in Yangon ensures its domination of the city’s skyline.
Shwedagon also dominates Burma’s history; British bureaucrats’ refusal to remove shoes in its vicinity fed the discontent that eventually led to Burmese independence. More recently, the Pagoda’s monks played a central role in the aborted uprising of September 2007.
