What is Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City and why is it being built?

Gelephu Mindfulness City is a new development on Bhutan's southern plains, with an international airport and a business district, meant to slow the exodus of young Bhutanese leaving for work abroad. The government says it will run on Buddhist and Bhutanese principles. BBC reporter Julia Paul saw volunteers build 108 stupas holding Buddhist relics in 24 hours to bless the site, and said full development will take about a decade.

• Around 125,000 people registered to take part, in a country of about 700,000.
• The plan keeps wildlife corridors for elephants and as much tree cover as possible.
• The zone has a legal structure distinct from the rest of Bhutan.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

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