Myanmar's ancient cities join World Heritage list

 

An annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha yesterday granted endangered status to the remains of the cities of Hanlin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra in the country’s Irrawaddy basin.

 "I'm glad that these three cities are now included on world heritage lists. It will be like Angkor Wat of Cambodia," said Lu Win, the chairperson of the organisation to preserve Sri Ksetra. 

Halin is located in Shwebo District of Sagaing Region. Beikthano is located in Taungtwingyi Township of Magwe Region. Sri Ksetra is located in Pyay District of Bago Region. 

The France-based International Council on Monuments and Sites inspected the three cities in October 2013.

An annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha on June 22 granted endangered status to the remains of the cities of Hanlin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra in the country’s Irrawaddy basin.

“The three cities are partly excavated archaeological sites. Remains include excavated palace citadels, burial grounds and early industrial production sites, as well as monumental brick Buddhist stupas, partly standing walls and water management features – some still in use - that underpinned the organised intensive agriculture,” Unesco said.

Daw Me Me Khaing, director of the archaeology department at Myanmar’s culture ministry, cheered the listing. “We are happy. We all worked hard to make this happen for a long time,” she said. 

Inclusion on the list has significant economic implications as a World Heritage Site is eligible for financial assistance toward preservation, while the status is a powerful draw for tourists. 

Remains of the palace citadels, brick Buddhist stupas and burial grounds at the site currently draw around 60,000 local and foreign visitors every year, according to Daw Me Me Khaing, who hopes the new status will bring many more.

“We will have a better situation for our heritage sites as we gain experience from this,” she said.

Officials are now campaigning for Myanmar’s better-known ancient city of Bagan, home to a sprawling complex of Buddhist temples, to join the Pyu cities on the Unesco list, she added.

The temples, some of which are about 1,000 years old, are one of the country’s most treasured religious sites and a top attraction for foreign tourists flocking to Myanmar as it emerges from decades of military rule.

But experts have previously warned that haphazard renovation work on some of the temples has irreversibly damaged the landscape, which could threaten Bagan’s chances of winning World Heritage status.

The brick, walled and moated cities at Pyu reflect the Pyu kingdoms that flourished for over 1,000 years between 200 BC and 900 AD.

“These ancient cities built along the Ayeyarwady Valley belong to the Pyu, a people speaking a language closely related to Myanmar and now extinct,” Unesco said.

The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation oversees the system of granting coveted World Heritage Site status to important cultural and natural sites.

Obtaining the status for sites is a point of pride for many nations and can boost tourism, but it comes with strict conservation rules.

Other sites given the status this year include a French cave that is home to the world’s earliest known figurative drawings, and ancient terraces in the West Bank that are under threat from the Israeli separation barrier.