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Situated in the center of the country of Myanmar, its capital city Naypyidaw is unusual for the county in that it is entirely planned. The city was named the capital of the country in 2005 replacing Yangon, the largest city by population in Myanmar.
Many reasons for the move have been noted, such as Naypyidaw’s central location between multiple states, ability for the government to better control outer-regions of the country (in case of unrest), and climate change (Yangon is very vulnerable to strong typhoons).
In the recent 2021 coup d’état in which the democratically elected leaders were overthrown by military leaders of the country, the city was brought to the forefront of the news cycle, which initially prompted me to look into this strange, planned city even more!
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
Naypyidaw is organized in specific zones depending on function
Key to a planned city is…well, planning! It seems like those in charge of planning Naypyidaw took this to an extreme in building specific, carefully-planned zones by function:
- Residential: housing complexes are apparently color-coded depending on where the individuals living work (for instance: blue roofs = Ministry of Health, green roofs = Ministry of Agriculture)
- Ministry: containing all of the HQ locations of the government offices, along with the main parliament building
- Diplomatic: a currently barren area intended for the embassies and residences of diplomatic workers; China was the first to open their embassy in 2017, though other countries still have not made the move from Yangon
- Hotel: locations for hotels to house foreign visitors on conferences and summits
- Shopping: large markets for local and foreign shoppers are all located in the same general area
- Pyinmana: the original town that Naypyidaw was built around
- Military: separated by almost 7 miles from the rest of the city, and shrouded in secrecy
The 2021 coup was caught on camera during an aerobics class
The 2021 coup which resulted in a return to a military-run government is not new to Myanmar – before 2011, various military leaders controlled the country before returning it to a democratic process from 2011-2021.
In Naypyidaw in 2021, the military leaders left their “military zone” and headed towards the main parliament buildings in the “ministry zone”. On their way, they passed a YouTube aerobics instructor who was streaming a class and caught the coup in-process on camera!
See the Google Map below for the exact location of where this video occurred!
Naypyidaw has infrastructure built but not many people to use it
If you scroll through the city below in Google Maps, you will see massive boulevards (like the 20-lane road pictured above) built connecting the various zones of Naypyidaw…all without any cars on them. According to many who have visited (foreigners were not allowed until the late 2000s), the city seems like a ghost town.
Additional links and sources
- Source for the featured map, along with history of the area (link)
- Perspective from a local who moved into the residential zone of Naypyidaw (link, published in 2009)
- Article from the perspective of a foreigner in the city (link, published in 2010)
Have you ever been to Naypyidaw in Myanmar before?
See other places around the world Globe Charting has featured!
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