The second largest city, the last capital of Myanmar Kingdom, is the hub of Myanmar Culture, 1 hour flight from Yangon, Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 716 km (445 mi) north of Yangon, Can be able to reach by air, rail, road and river with Yangon and other principal towns of Myanmar. Royal Palaces, Kuthodaw Pagoda, Shwe Nandaw Monastery, Mandalay Hill are worth to visit. There are much tour destinations around Mandalay, Inwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Monywa. Mahamuni Buddha Image is the landmark of Mandalay. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon, replacing Amarapura as the new royal capital of the Konbaung dynasty. It was Burma's final royal capital before the kingdom's annexation by the British Empire in 1885. Under British rule, Mandalay remained commercially and culturally important despite the rise of Yangon, the new capital of British Burma. The city suffered extensive destruction during the Japanese conquest of Burma in the Second World War. In 1948, Mandalay became part of the newly independent Union of Burma. Today, Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Myanmar and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, in the past 20 years, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China.[4][5] Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health center.