Yadanabon Market (Burmese: ရတနာပုံဈေး) is Mandalay's second-largest market. It is between 77th and 33rd and 34th streets, near the Mandalay Central Railway Station.[1][2] The market is now beside the Diamond Plaza.

Yadanabon Market
Coordinates21°58′17″N 96°05′15″E / 21.971422°N 96.087434°E / 21.971422; 96.087434
AddressMandalay, Myanmar

The market was previously housed on the ground floor of Skywalk Shopping Mall, a five-story complex that included a shopping mall on the first floor and restaurants and offices of the Trading Association and MICT Park on the second floor.[1][2] The shopping mall was built in 2003.[3]

A fire destroyed Yadanabon Market in February 2008.[2] The fire burned for 13 hours, destroying 1,558 shops and injuring 21 people.[4]

In 2009, it was reconstructed as Diamond Plaza and Yadanabon Super Centre.

Skywalk Fire edit

On January 17, 2020, at 6:08 P.M., a fire started within a segment of Yadanabon Market, better known as Skywalk. By 2:02 A.M. on January 18, the Myanmar Fire Department had contained the fire. The fire was later extinguished by 5:03 A.M. During the fire, approximately 200 fire engines were deployed to put down the flames.

 
A photo taken by the Myanmar Fire Services Department during the Skywalk Fire.

Nearly 125 shops were burnt by the fire, and many were injured. Estimates indicate that the damage inflicted by the fire had a value similar to one billion kyats. Shortly after the fire occurred, speculations were made about the culprits who started the fire. Many fingers pointed at Giordano, a shoe store, and a lawsuit was filed against them. Giordano has since claimed not to have been the one who started the fire. Currently, the true culprit remains unknown.

Months after the fire, a construction team has been repairing the damage the fire caused to the Skywalk Mall; as of now, they have finished the roof. Skywalk is still closed and off-limits to the public.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Aye Lae (25 March 2008). "Fire in Mandalay Market". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Huge fire rages major market in Myanmar second largest city". Xinhua. 25 February 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Fire broke out at Mandalay's Yadanpon Market". Mizzima. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Massive Mandalay market fire destroys 1,500 shops". Reuters. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2015.