• Burmese
Saturday, July 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Govt Plans to Relocate Hotels From Bagan Archeological Zone

Tin Htet Paing by Tin Htet Paing
November 20, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
The Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA) logged 3,822 ancient monuments in Bagan in early September. / The Irrawaddy

The Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA) logged 3,822 ancient monuments in Bagan in early September. / The Irrawaddy

8.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — Myanmar attempts to relocate controversial hotels in the archaeological site Bagan as it prepares the ancient city’s final nomination dossier to become a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The temples of Bagan, dating from between the 9th and 13th centuries—when the Kingdom of Bagan ruled over much of lowland Burma—are considered Myanmar’s biggest tourist draw and on par with Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. Despite the historical, archaeological and cultural value, the ancient capital has yet to be granted Unesco World Heritage Site status, allegedly on account of being unable to present management plans to deal with sub-standard, inauthentic restorations and controversial hotel developments in the archaeological site completed under previous governments.

Showing a commitment to fixing mismanagement, the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said it would negotiate with developers whose hotels were built within the ancient city’s archaeological vicinity to hotel zones or otherwise outside of the area.

RelatedPosts

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

May 10, 2025
1.6k
Skulls, Smoke and Spirits: Thai Ceremony Honors the Unclaimed Dead

Skulls, Smoke and Spirits: Thai Ceremony Honors the Unclaimed Dead

April 29, 2025
449
Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

April 24, 2025
1.4k

“Relevant ministries and hoteliers will be discussing [the relocation] but we have not negotiated with or informed hotel owners officially yet,” said U Aung Aung Kyaw, director of the ministry’s Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library in Bagan.

In early September, the Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA) logged 3,822 ancient monuments in Bagan. Myanmar submitted its first bid in 1996 and failed to receive the status. As the ministry decided in June 2014 to restart the process, the draft nomination dossier to the World Heritage Site Committee of Unesco was submitted in September this year and the final version has to be delivered by February 1, 2018.

Significant hotels and landmarks that would be need to be relocated include Nan Myint Viewing Tower, the Bagan Thande Hotel, the Hotel at Tharabar Gate, the Bagan Hotel, the Bagan Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort, one owned by the Eden Group Company Ltd that is still under construction, and multiple others, according to U Aung Aung Kyaw.

The government is considering allowing hotel owners at least 15 years to relocate from the archaeological site but the time frame will have to be mutually agreed on by the government and hotel owners, he added.

“Regulations will be set up for the relocation after negotiations between concerned parties are finished,” he said.

U Chit Khaing, chair of the Eden Group Company Ltd, told The Irrawaddy that he has yet to be informed by the government regarding the issue. Authorities and officials from the ministry have been inspecting his hotel project that is still under construction in Bagan, and no decision or conclusion has been made by government officials, he said.

“If [the decision] is in line with the law and is for the benefit of the country, we have to give it considerable thought,” U Chit Khaing said, claiming that the location where the hotel is being constructed was permitted for hotel developments.

“If our [hotel project] is a disruption in nominating Bagan to be listed as a World Heritage Site, we have to follow [the decision],” he said, adding that his hotel project will not be considered a disruption within a world heritage site as per his observation internationally.

Built in 2005, Nan Myint Viewing Tower gives tourists a bird’s-eye view of temple-filled Bagan, but the site faced criticism from archaeologists and preservationists for being built in the midst of such an important archaeological zone. (Photo: Zaw Zaw/ The Irrawaddy)

Unesco’s national project officer for Myanmar Ma Ohnmar Myo said the government urgently needed to implement a systematic management plan to preserve ancient cultural heritage while upholding the interest of the local community.

“Unesco has suggested that the government start relocation of the hotels only after providing infrastructural needs including electricity and water supplies at new locations,” Ma Ohnmar Myo told The Irrawaddy.

She added that if the government could not provide a relocation management plan in the upcoming final version of the nomination dossier, it would impact Unesco’s decision on whether Bagan should be listed as a World Heritage Site.

“Mistakes have been made. So the government must show that it understands these mistakes and is willing to and is trying to remedy these mistakes,” she said.

“The government’s management plan has to be firm and resolute this time,” she stressed.

U Khin Maung Nu, chair of the Bagan Regional Development Association, said hotel developments are extremely close to heritage vicinity sites and not appropriate among the cultural and religious ancient monuments.

“Rather than protecting the interest of elites, the government should prioritize the country’s valuable heritage,” U Khin Maung Nu said.

In the 1990s, about 6,000 people from the local community who used to live in the old Bagan area were forced to relocate from the ancient city. After the relocation, several hotel projects were built in old Bagan vicinity and hundreds of ancient temples were rebuilt inaccurately under the management of one of the then junta’s most powerful leaders Gen Khin Nyunt, who wanted the ancient temples to have a “golden” look.

“Locals find it insufferable that people who had lived there for generations were forced to move out but hotels are being allowed to operate in the same area,” he said.

During the 2000s, the military government faced severe criticism from local and international preservationists and archaeologists for permitting the construction of a nearly 200-foot viewing tower—part of the country’s business tycoon Tay Za-owned Aureum Palace Hotel in Bagan, in the midst of the ancient temples. French architect and Bagan expert Pierre Pichard labeled the move a “cultural crime.”

“If Bagan is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, we have to follow its standards and frameworks as a heritage site, U Aung Aung Kyaw said.

“At the same time, it has to be in line with our country’s regulations and laws. If not, it will be like we don’t respect the law.”

August 24 marked one year since a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, centered about 15 miles west of Chauk town in Magwe Region. According to the religion and culture ministry’s archaeology department, out of more than 3,000 temples and pagodas across Bagan—located north of the epicenter—389 were affected by tremors and needed renovation.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CultureDevelopmentHeritagePreservation
Tin Htet Paing

Tin Htet Paing

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand
Guest Column

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand

by R. J. Aung and Tony Waters
November 18, 2023
10.9k

After the 2021 coup the donors, NGOs and CSOs of ‘Peaceland’ decamped from Yangon to Thailand, but their Western, ‘we-know-best’...

Read moreDetails
Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy
Books

Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy

by Mon Mon Myat
July 18, 2024
10.2k

In a new book, Saw Eh Htoo and Tony Waters examine the late dictator’s policy of Burmanization and how it...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s NUG Fights to Shield Mandalay’s Ancient Cities From Junta Firestorm
Burma

Myanmar’s NUG Fights to Shield Mandalay’s Ancient Cities From Junta Firestorm

by Brian Wei
January 19, 2024
3.6k

Parallel civilian government declares heritage status for seven sites after regime troops destroy museum and heritage in Rakhine and Sagaing.  

Read moreDetails
A Compelling Chronicle of Myanmar’s Rich Cinematic History
Books

A Compelling Chronicle of Myanmar’s Rich Cinematic History

by Bertil Lintner
May 20, 2024
3.5k

Films have always provided Myanmar people with a way “to look at the past through a fancy new lens but...

Read moreDetails
KIO/KIA’s Unspoken Objective in Myanmar’s Revolution: Uniting the Kachin Into a Nation
Guest Column

KIO/KIA’s Unspoken Objective in Myanmar’s Revolution: Uniting the Kachin Into a Nation

by Zung Ring
December 9, 2024
3.5k

Successful Kachin nation building will require the participation of all Kachin groups.

Read moreDetails
It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Guest Column

It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine

by Mra Thida
March 29, 2024
2.8k

The junta’s loss of control over much of Myanmar’s westernmost state has made the United League of Arakan the most...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
HCYT t-shirt. / HCYT / Facebook

Humanitarian Group Discards Logo After Criticism of Creating Conflict in Rakhine

Rohingya refugees walk toward a refugee camp after crossing the border in Anjuman Para near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, November 19, 2017. / Reuters

Fear, Hunger, Hopes for a New Life — the Many Reasons Driving the Rakhine Exodus

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

2 days ago
1.4k
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

1 week ago
3.5k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Top Brass Visit Myanmar After Cross-Border Drone Attack

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.