Mandalay is the ancient capital of Burma, established by King Thibau in 1852. He built a palace surrounded by a 2mile square moat. The palace wall has 12 gates- 3 gates on each side – only the east gate is open to the public. The original gold covered  palace was bombed by the British during WW2 and the government built a small replica in the 1990’s. 
One original structure from the Palace is still standing, called the Golden Palace. It had been moved in 1860 to a then country location guarded by a monastery. We can see the spectacular intricate teak wood carved exterior,  alas without the gilding, presently.
The interior did not weather as badly as the exterior and the original gilding can be seen. One can only imagine the sight of this building when it was covered in gold. The carving is still absolutely breathtaking.