U Bein Brigdge in the morning mist. The teakwood bridge spans 1.2 km across the shallow Taungthaman Lake some 10 km south of Mandalay. It was built by U Bein in the mid-19th century when the capital of Innwa (Ava) Kingdom moved to the nearby Amarapura.

 

 

Today, even though a few of the 1,000 teakwood posts have been replaced by concretes (above), the bridge remains intact and serves as a main passage indispensable to the daily life of the local people (below and bottom).

 

 

 

With necklaces on her hands, a souvenir vendor in pursuit of tourists.

Recent tourist boom has added another significance to U Bein bridge, when hundreds of tourists, groups or individuals, become major income sources to the local business.