Mandalay is Myanmar’s cultural and religious capital, home to around one million people, Buddhist monasteries and a sprawling palace from where kings once ruled.

Phone lines were down since the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in a neighboring Sagaing region, with a CNN producer unable to reach residents.

Located on the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy River, Mandalay is home to several important monasteries vital to the spiritual life of Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The former Royal Palace housed the kings of Myanmar – then known as Burma – until British colonialists annexed the kingdom in 1885, sending the last king into exile in India.

The city is also a key logistics and business hub.

It sits at the end of a major trade route that winds through the hills of Shan state to the border with China – Myanmar’s biggest trading partner.

Since the military coup in 2021 and subsequent plunge into civil war, that road has seen sustained fighting between ethnic rebels and pro-democracy groups battling the military.

The closures of the road have hit business and denied the cash-strapped military rulers of the country hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.

Mandalay itself has been attacked sporadically by pro-democracy rebels.

In October last year China’s consulate in the city was hit by an explosive device, which the junta blamed on its opponents.