There is a great diversity of races in Burma, various foreign tribes having come there and remained, making a mixed population. There are now about sixty thousand Palaings wearing the Chin dress. The Kachins, a warlike people, formerly made raids on the Burmans who lived on the border of China, the Chins dwelling among the hills. The Karens are numerically the strongest and live in the delta of the Irrawaddy. They had been an oppressed people, but achieved their liberty under British rule, and it is estimated that one hundred thousand abjured Buddhism and became Christians. The Chins are the oldest, having come from China two thousand years ago.
Southern Burma was under British rule before the middle of the nineteenth century, but it is only since January, 1886, that England has controlled Northern Burma. King Thebaw's downfall was caused by his numerous cruel acts to foreigners, which compelled the British to take steps to check him. His headquarters were at Mandalay, and his deserted palace is the centre of attraction to-day. The most prominent feature is the fort, in and about which are grouped the palace of the King, the houses of Government officials and residents of the military quarter.
Fort Dufferin and the moat, Mandalay
Mandalay palace and its tower, called The Centre of the Universe
The palace was erected by Mindon Min, King Thebaw's father. It covers an immense area and is encompassed by a high wall of red brick, in which are twelve gates, each one surrounded by a conical cupola, with layers of upturned eaves after the peculiar fashion of the country; the same thing is characteristic of China.
The fort is entirely surrounded by a moat, one hundred feet wide and twelve feet deep. Five bridges also lead from five of the gateways. The moat supplies drinking water for the city and is covered with the purple lotus blossom. Its width and extent make it a characteristic feature of Mandalay. Roads run parallel with the walls and lead to the entrance of the palace gardens, once very beautiful.
The palace is a square of twenty or more buildings, built of teak, painted red, and covered originally with gold leaf. The roofs have layers of upturned eaves, and the buildings are richly decorated with colored ornamentation, while the worn gilding and faded reds are blended in the peculiar shading which time alone can give. There are many audience rooms, these usually furnished with elaborately decorated thrones, as is also the audience room in the beautiful adjacent palace of the Queen; her throne and the King's great throne in the principal audience room under the lofty cupola (called pyathat, and termed by the people the "Centre of the Universe") are especially imposing and rich in decoration. On either side of this audience chamber are large audience rooms; these were used for some time after the British occupation as a church for the soldiers, and the Queen's palace was turned into a resting place for the Upper Burma Club; now both the church and the club have appropriate edifices of their own. Between two of the principal rooms is a screen, utilized as a wall and panelled in glass, mosaic, and mirrors, which is very effective and reminds one of the glass room in the palace at Amber.
From the high hill at Mandalay, one may gain an excellent general view of the many pagodas and monasteries in which the city abounds; for this is verily the land of the pagoda. The most beautiful of all, called the Incomparable, was destroyed by fire. One of great interest was built by Mindon Min, and called the Kuthodau, or, more generally, the 450 Pagodas, but there are said to be seven hundred and twenty-nine cupolas surrounding the great central pagoda, each containing an alabaster slab upon which are engraved some texts of Buddha taken from the Pali Bible, the King thinking thus to perpetuate them,—the whole surrounded by a wall, in which are built two richly decorated gates.