8 Gorgeous Photos Of Myanmar, The Southeast Asian Paradise That's Making Its Way Back Onto The World Stage

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was a country notorious for its ongoing civil war. In recent years, the country has begun to reinvent itself alongside its new name.

Last year, book publisher Editions Didier Millet sent 30 photographers to travel around the country and capture scenes from the up-and-coming nation.

Now released as "7 Days in Myanmar," the photo book contains images of Myanmar's people, landscapes, and traditions from major urban centers to tourist sites and small villages.

Shwedagon Pagoda dominates the skyline of Yangon, the former capital of Burma. The pagoda, known as The Golden Pagoda, was supposedly constructed during the time of the Buddha and is one of Myanmar's most popular tourist attractions.

Athit Perawongmetha

A shinpyu Buddhist novitation ceremony is held at the Shwedagon Pagoda. These young men leading the procession are dressed as royal princes, while the young girls who follow wear the costume and headdress of a princess.

Bruno Barbey

Workers carry heavy sacks of rice to a barge on the Yangon River. A hard day's work by the dock pays roughly $3 per day. To the right of the workers, a boat operator repairs his vessel with a hatchet.

Chang Chien Chi

Young men wielding long swords train at Myanmar Thaing Federation's martial arts school in Yangon. In addition to bare-fisted combat, practitioners are trained to use long poles, swords, lances, and large knives.

Chris Steele Perkins

A night train stops at Naba station. Without electricity, these women sell food to passengers by candlelight.

Gilles Sabrie´

A train travel ling from Mandalay to Lashio crawls slowly across the famous Gokteik Viaduct. Originally built for the British by the Pennsylvania Steel Company in 1901, the crossing stands at 315 feet high and 2,257 feet across as it stretches over a deep ravine formed by the Myitnge River. Among the American engineers who constructed it was a young Herbert Hoover, who later became the 31st president of the United States.

Kyaw Kyaw Winn

Win Sein Taw Ya is one of the largest reclining Buddhas in the world. The Buddha is filled with rooms that showcase dioramas of the teachings of Buddha. After 15 years of construction, it is still not complete.

Raghu Rai

Myanmar's teenage soccer players are resourceful when it comes to creating a playing field, as they often turn backstreets and temple grounds into pitches and make goals out of bamboo stakes and twine. This platform at the base of a Mandalay Pagoda was turned into a soccer pitch.

Steve McCurry