Philadelphia Inquirer-The gold-cove

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Subject: Philadelphia Inquirer-The gold-covered Shwedagon was found to be

in precarious shape.
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Grand pagoda being restored
The gold-covered Shwedagon was found to be in precarious shape.

By Patrick McDowell

ASSOCIATED PRESS
YANGON, Myanmar - Legend says the colossal, gold-covered Shwedagon Pagoda
has towered above Yangon for 2,500 years, starting with a foundation-laying
ceremony that shook heaven and earth when eight of the Buddha's hairs were
laid in the base.

Last October, inspectors were alarmed to discover that the temple had so
deteriorated that a strong wind could have blown the top off. Officials went
to work to save one of the world's most sacred and splendid structures.

The cone-shaped Shwedagon is in the last stage of its most extensive
restoration in 128 years, with an army of workmen beating the final layers
of gold leaf into place.

The crowning moment came in April, when a new, jewel-encrusted golden
umbrella, known as a htidaw, was winched atop the 326-foot-tall temple,
crucially beating the monsoon season by a month.

Experts had feared that a heavy storm, or one of Myanmar's frequent
earthquakes, could topple the decrepit old htidaw (pronounced TEE-daw). It
had been installed in 1871 by Mindon, one of the last kings before Britain
finished colonizing what was then known as Burma.

A lot of the upper structure could have crashed down with the htidaw,
gouging the temple base, smashing small shrines along the esplanade and
endangering thousands of people who visit every day.

Monsoon rains have been pounding Yangon since early May, but the temple and
its visitors are now safe.

"It's a good opening to the new millennium," said a satisfied Ngi Hla Nge,
rector of Yangon Technological University, who supervised the structural
work. "All Buddhists everywhere will be pleased."

The htidaw is checked for corrosion every four to five years. During an
inspection in October, experts found that the ornament - a seven-tiered
umbrella of layered gold, copper, steel and zinc - had deteriorated far more
than expected.

Looking closer, they discovered that only four of the 20 cables holding it
together were still in good shape. The wrought-iron central shaft plunging
into the main structure was badly rusted, and the upper structure was

showing bad cracks.

"When they saw all this, the team became very frightened," Ngi Hla Nge said.
"It was critical. The constraint was time. We effectively had three working
months before the monsoon."

It was hardly the first time the Shwedagon had confronted the forces of
nature.

Myanmar's 50 million people generally believe the Shwedagon was built 2,500
years ago to enshrine eight hairs of the Buddha.

According to legend, when the hairs were removed from their traveling case,
the earth shook, the winds blew, the deaf could hear, and the blind see.
Onlookers saw the gates of heaven and hell.

Archaeologists think the temple is probably 1,000 years younger and
originally stood 66 feet tall. Frequently destroyed by earthquakes, it was
rebuilt and made grander by successive kings.

By the 15th century, monarchs were giving their weight in gold to cover the
structure. Centuries of such donations from rich and poor have led to a gold
cladding estimated at more than 50 tons.

Ngi Hla Nge was a young engineering instructor in 1970 when a minor
earthquake bent King Mindon's htidaw. Then as now, engineers and workmen
donated labor to repair the damage, believing that giving wealth or labor to
a pagoda earns spiritual merit.

No pagoda brings greater merit than the Shwedagon. It is one of the greatest
temples in the Buddhist world, and every Buddhist in Myanmar seeks to make
at least one pilgrimage.

At the turn of the year, a spider's web of bamboo scaffolding went up. As
many as 700 workers labored day and night to fix the structural damage and
fasten gold plates to the upper cone.

Ngi Hla Nge's team replaced rusted wrought iron with stainless steel, poured
cement slurry to fill cracks, and applied a new plaster outer coating that
he contends is as strong as concrete.

"The aim is to make it all earthquake proof," Ngi Hla Nge said. "I expect it
to last another 128 years, maybe even 200."

A new htidaw made of gold and modern alloys, studded with thousands of gems,
was hoisted into place over three days in April. It culminates in a 76-carat
diamond pinnacle.

Trustees said the renovation would be paid for with donations, which are
still coming in. As of March 31, the latest date for which figures were
available, donations totaled $2 million in cash, 94 pounds of gold, and
67,868 pieces of jewelry.