To the millions of Myanmar Buddhists who still visit it, Mandalay symbolizes, nominally at least, the Rome of this "Golden Land." It is a royal "City of Gems."

The city was originally founded by King Thibaw to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Ananda, a disciple of the Buddha, supposedly foretold the establishment of a religious metropolis at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Thenceforward, change was a rare visitor. As recently as a decade ago, Mandalay remained a complex of narrow, dusty streets, chaotic markets and sleepily moving traffic -- the very epitome of old Asia.

That has all changed now. An influx of goods in the last several years has created pockets of wealth, transforming central Mandalay into a core of high-rise buildings, modern shops and hotels, and brand-new homes, many owned by Chinese and Yunnanese merchants or by the ethnic bosses of Mandalay's notorious drug rackets.