The rich history

Historically, British seized many parts of Burma Kingdom from 1852 to 1885 and had selected Yangon as the capital city. An impressive number of buildings was constructed in Victorian style to function administrative head quarters. 
Besides the visible heritage, there is also the influence on Burmese culture. Christian church like Emmanuel Baptist, house with large garden appeared in Yangon this time and still expanded its wing till now.
Since 2005 when Burmese government chosen Nay Pyi Daw as the new capital, Yangon's faded buildings were left in bad state of repair. 
These days, with the effort of Yangon heritage trust, they are opening up to tourism and undergo a big preservation.

Yangon Heritage List

The heritage list covers a large number of school, government buildings as well temples and pagodas which are more than 50 years old. They are often marked in the top sites of a Yangon City Tour that you should visit.
These are some of the most visible sites :

The Secretariat or Ministers Office
This tower was desinged in U-shape, served as the seat of British rule during the coloinial era till the independence day of Burma in 1948. There is a new plan to convert it into a hotel or museum.
The secretariat building lies in between Maha Bandula road and Anawratha in Yangon downtown,

Strand Hotel
This hotel opened in 1901 to serve British rulers and so far still one of the best hotels in town. The Victorian archiect reflects through grand ceiling, large room and spacious lobby is the signture of this property. It was actually neglected after the Burma`s independence for decades and only restored in the 1990s. The whole hotel reopened in 1993 to welcome foreign tourist.



Yangon city hall
Situated right at the heart of the city, next to Sule pagoda, Yangon City Hall is an impressive Burmese building  tiered roofs called Pyatthat, topped with hti, a ceremonial umbrella. Flanking the arched entrance are two Nagas, serpents from Buddhist and Hindu mythology, guarding the hall. The building was completed in 1936 after 10 years of construction. Yangon city hall is located on Maha Bandula road, next to the Sule pagoda.