Myanmar News Articles: Inside Myanmar's haunting capital city, Naypyidaw

The Burmese capital was moved from Yangon (Rangoon) to Naypyidaw, inexplicably, about a decade ago
Despite multi-million dollar efforts to build up the city, foreigners are not keen to visit and locals refuse to relocate
The official numbers reveal a population of 924,000, but rarely have people been photographed walking outside

By

Katie Amey for MailOnline

Published:
09:38 GMT, 18 April 2015

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Updated:
09:44 GMT, 18 April 2015

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The city of Naypyidaw is shrouded in secrecy.

It first became the capital of Myanmar a decade ago, after the government decided to move the capital from Yangon (also known as Rangoon) with minimal explanation.

Since then, although developed to be the size of 120 Manhattans and to have space for up to one million residents, it remains a relative ghost town.

Myanmar's newly-built capital city, Naypyidaw, is shrouded in secrecy, after the government decided to move the capital from Yangon

Built mainly for government staff, locals only come to live in the city, which looks more like no man's land than a booming metropolis, if they need to for work.

The super-sized highways have up to 20 lanes and are built to be big enough for government SUVs, though some report that the massive roads were also constructed as runways to accommodate the landings of military.

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Official records state the population is just over 924,000, though any photographs taken would beg to differ.

The streets are barren, with just a handful of individuals spotted walking or cycling through the secluded capital at any given point during the day.

The city was developed mostly for government staff, including residential zones to house employees in four-storey apartment blocks

Despite a reported population of 924,000, the city's streets are barren and it's rare to see more than a couple of people at any given time

The building of Naypyidaw began in 2002, with it location chosen in the middle of a jungle that hadn't been lived in for more than 2,000 years.

Although some government workers moved to the new capital at the beginning of 2005, many employees were separated from their families due to a lack of schools and other amenities.

Split into various zones, the city keeps the government ministries far from the military area and there is also a designated commercial zone and hotel zone, despite a lack of tourism in the region.

Burmese workers walk past the massive Parliament building surrounded by high gates and empty 10 lane roads

A street sweeper cleans this empty super-sized highway in the seemingly secluded capital city by hand with a broom

The residential areas are carefully organised into 1,200 four-storey apartment blocks. The roofs of the buildings are colour-coded by the jobs of their inhabitants.

Despite the government-issued housing, many of the residents still live in slums.

When it comes to recreational activities, there's the beautiful Uppatansanti Pagoda, which is similar in size and shape to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, as well as several parks and gardens, including a water fountain complex that hosts a musical light show each night.

Foreigners and investors aren't keen to visit the secluded city and foreign aid workers prefer to commute daily from Yangon

But there are not many people around to enjoy the sights.

Reportedly, foreigners and investors aren't keen to visit, especially amid travel agent reports that the area may be 'dangerous,' and foreign aid workers who have visited the city in an official capacity are apparently so spooked by the eerie emptiness that they prefer to commute in daily from Yangon.

Despite the fact that the government set aside almost 5 acres of land each for foreign embassies and headquarters of UN missions, only the Bangladeshi embassy has moved to Naypyidaw so far.