Shwedagon Pagoda — Yangon at Golden Sunrise
37,480.80 ¥
Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda photographed from a distance at sunrise — the 98-metre solid gold stupa blazing in the first sunlight above the surrounding city, the hti diamond orb catching the light at the summit.
Description
The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is Buddhism’s most sacred stupa — enclosing eight hairs of the Gautama Buddha according to tradition — and at 98 metres the highest stupa in Myanmar. Its surface is covered in 27 metric tonnes of gold leaf, maintained by continuous donation and application, and is topped with a hti crown encrusted with 5,448 diamonds, 2,317 rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and a single 76-carat diamond at its apex. At sunrise, the gold surface reflects the first sunlight with extraordinary intensity — the stupa appears to generate its own light rather than reflect it. This photograph was made from the roof of a 12-storey building 800 metres to the northeast, providing an elevated angle that shows both the complete stupa profile and its relationship to the surrounding city. The morning mist of Yangon’s tropical climate provides atmospheric depth.
