Local and foreign visitors to the Bagan Ancient Cultural Zone enjoy taking photos with the puppets hanging from the trees and purchasing these puppets during the Thadingyut festival.
Bagan is crowded with visitors during the Taungpyone Festival in Wagoung, the Aba Boe Min Khaung Festival at Popa in Tawthalin and Thadingyut, the Bagan Thadingyut Festival, the New Year Festival and the Thingyan Festival. Although the number of visitors to Bagan might decline during the COVID-19 period and due to the political situation and flooding in September, the locals are making preparations to provide services to travellers to Bagan, where ancient cultural heritage is concentrated.
As the hotels are fully booked this year, the local businesspeople estimated that the number of visitors to Bagan this year will be higher than the number of visitors during the 2023 Thadingyut Festival. Moreover, they prepare to facilitate the travellers arrivals and trading. There are many Margosa or Nim trees, Vachellia leucophloea trees, pagodas, and temples in Bagan that are symbols of the Bagan Ancient Cultural Heritage Zone. Moreover, visitors ride horse carts, take photos with puppets hanging from the trees, and buy the puppets to display at houses, companies, hotels, shopping centres and restaurants as decoration.
The wooden puppets such as male dancer, female dancer, Zawgyi, king, minister, general, Kyansittha, Manisanda, Thungetaw, ogre, Kinnari/Kinnara, Napansan, elephant, horse, spiritual Nat, Thagyamin, monk, nun, Pyittinehtaung are hanging from the Margosa trees near the pagodas. The prices of 6, 8, 10, and 12-inch puppets range from K8,000 to K100,000 per head. A fully decorated puppet with string costs K1 million. Moreover, the shops sell triangle-shaped solid brass gongs, gongs, bells, masks and small bells.
The local travellers enjoy taking photos with these hanging puppets, and it can be done free of charge or with extra charges.
Thitsa (MNA)/KTZH
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