Myanmar's junta government became an international joke when they decided to move the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2005. They spent over 3 billion USD to build this royal prison where everything looks glamorous but at the same time, it's a ghost town. There's only one local market, two shopping malls and two movie theaters. Except the downtown area, the rest of the city looks empty. To opposition parties, this new capital is the military government's own royal prison.

The road leading up to the congressional building has more than 20 lanes, which makes it look like a landing strip. The government also sets up numerous defensive emplacements around the presidential compound. Scholars believe that it is the military government's plan to reestablish its authority by moving the capital from the prosperous Yangon to the heavily guarded Naypyidaw. Most of the buildings are built like castles and there is even a moat built around the entire administrative district.

Unlike the new capital, most antique buildings in the old capital Yangon are preserved due to the nation's long stagnant economy. According to Moe Moe Lwin, the Director of Yangon Heritage Trust, Myanmar hasn't had much opportunity to develop in the past few decades, meaning antique buildings have been preserved. While modernization is a common goal for many global cities, it usually comes at the cost of wide swaths of architectural heritage.

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