After a thrilling few days off the beaten track in Hsipaw, it was time to come back and explore some of Myanmar’s more famous areas. That mean Mandalay. To get there, my chosen mode was via the relatively slow but beautiful train, which passes over the Goteik Viaduct Train Bridge, an engineering marvel.
The Goteik viaduct (Burmese: ?????????????, also known as Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar (also known as Burma). The bridge is between the two towns of Pyin U Lwin, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the principal town of northern Shan State. It is the highest bridge in Myanmar and when it was completed, the largest railway trestle in the world. The bridge is located approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay.
The bridge was constructed in 1899 and completed in 1900 by Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction.[2] The components were made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and the parts were shipped from the United States. The rail line was constructed as a way for the British Empire to expand their influence in the region. The construction project was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railroad Company.[3]