In Pictures: Myanmar's Sule Pagoda, clad in gold

Myanmar craftsmen using square gold leaves to cover the Sule Pagoda's tower. The renovation, which happens once every five years, sees the monument shed its weather-damaged frontage. It is re-clad in several hundred solid gold plates - each costing around US$1,100 (S$1,490) - and thousands of squares of gold leaf.

Updated

Published

Mar 30, 2016, 08:52 AM

The Sule Pagoda tower, newly covered with gold, glowing under spotlights before dawn on March 23. PHOTO: AFP

Devotees looking at the Sule Pagoda temple and tower covered with bamboo mats and scaffolding as craftsmen install new gold coverings on March 12. PHOTO: AFP

Devotees arriving at the gold-covered Sule Pagoda (left) on March 24. PHOTO: AFP

A view from the scaffolding of the Sule Pagoda tower shows the historic Yangon city hall building (left) fronting Mahabandoola road, on March 14. PHOTO: AFP

A craftsman preparing a square gold leaf to cover the Sule Pagoda's tower on March 8. PHOTO: AFP

A craftsman using square gold leaf to cover a section of Sule Pagoda's tower during renovations on March 8. PHOTO: AFP

Craftsmen dismantling bamboo scaffolding on a section of the Sule Pagoda tower after installing gold covering on March 14. PHOTO: AFP

A craftsman attaching a pure gold plate with the inscription of a donor's name and dedication onto the Sule Pagoda's tower on March 12. PHOTO: AFP

Bamboo scaffolding surrounding the Sule Pagoda tower, covered in gold and decorated with gemstones, on March 12. PHOTO: AFP

A vessel in the form of a boat delivering devotees offerings of gold leaf to the tower of Sule Pagoda on March 4. PHOTO: AFP

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