This unfinished pagoda on Mingun Island towers 50 metres over the Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) river, or one-third of its planned height of 152 metres. It is called the Mingun (or Mantara Gyi) Pagoda, and was built commencing in 1790 by King Bodawpaya, fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the Burmese Konbaung dynasty, to house a tooth of the Buddha given to his court as a gift by the Chinese emperor. However, the economic ruin that ravaged Burma at the end of the 19th century forced Bodawpaya to halt construction work on the pagoda in 1797, and it was never finished and is today sometimes described as the biggest pile of bricks on earth. The pagoda was damaged in the earthquake of 1838, which caused huge cracks in the structure that can still be seen. Today, the monstrosity seems rather out of place in the rural setting and atmosphere of Mingun Island. Young children played football on the grounds in front of the pagoda, seemingly oblivious to the historical significance of the unfinished edifice.