General
Chiang Mai is also sometimes written as "Chiangmai". This is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It is located some 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok, among some of the highest mountains in the country. The city stands on the Ping river, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya river.
In recent years, Chiang Mai has become an increasingly modern city; and although it lacks the cosmopolitan nature of Bangkok, it has many attractions for the thousands of foreign visitors who come each year. Chiang Mai's historic importance is derived from its strategic location on an ancient trade route. Long before the modern influx of foreign visitors, the city served as a major centre for handcrafted goods, umbrellas, jewellery (particularly silver) and woodcarving.[citation needed]
While officially the city (thesaban nakhon) of Chiang Mai only covers most parts of the Mueang Chiang Mai district with a population of 150,000, the urban sprawl of the city now extends into several neighboring districts. This Chiang Mai Metropolitan Area has a population of nearly one million people, more than half the total of Chiang Mai Province.
The city itself is subdivided into four wards (khwaeng): Nakhon Ping, Srivijaya, Mengrai, and Kavila. The first three are on the west bank while Kavila is located on the east bank of the Ping River. Nakhon Ping district covers the north side of the city. Srivijaya, Mengrai, and Kavila cover the west, south, and east side respectively. The central part (the old walled town) is covered mostly by Srivijaya and partly by Nakhon Ping and Mengrai wards.[1]
History
King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning "new city") in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. To protect it against raids from Burma, the city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall. With the decline in power of the Lannathai kingdom, the city lost importance and often was occupied by either the Burmese or Thais from Ayutthaya. As a result of the Burmese wars that ended with the fall of Ayutthaya in April 1767, Chiang Mai was so depopulated that its remaining inhabitants abandoned the city from 1776 to 1791. During that time, Lampang functioned as the capital of what remained of Lannathai.
Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774, when the Thai King Taksin captured it from the Burmese. Chiang Mai rose in both cultural, trading and economic terms to adopt its current status as the unofficial capital of the north of Thailand, second only in national importance to Bangkok.
The people generally speak Kham Muang (also known as Northern Thai or Lanna) amongst themselves, but the Central Thai of Bangkok is used in education and is understood by most. English is generally used in hotel and travel related businesses and many locals speak English.[2] The old Kham Muang alphabet is now only studied by scholars and Northern Thai is commonly written using the standard Thai alphabet.
The modern municipal entity dates back to a sanitary district (sukhaphiban) created in 1915. It was upgraded to a municipality (thesaban) on March 29 1935, as published in the Royal Gazette, Book No. 52 section 80. At first covering an area of 17.5 km2 (7 sq mi), it was enlarged to cover 40.216 km2 (16 sq mi) on April 5, 1983.[3]
In Lanna dialect, “Jaeng” means “corner”
Jaeng Kuruang – refers to the pagoda with the ash bones of Muen Ruang, the person who imprisoned King Mengrai’s son, Khun Khrua at his house from B.E. 1846-1868.
Jaeng Hualin – “Hualin” means gutter. Formerly, it used to be a place that collected water from “Huay Kaew” and to flow to the city for public use and that is why it is named Jaeng Hualin.
Jaeng Sriphoom – “Sriphoom” refers to the good luck, prosperity, power and happiness of Chiang Mai. It’s was the beginning of settlement in Chiang Mai in the reign of King Mengrai in B.E. 1839.
Jaeng Katam – “Katam” is a kind of local fish trap. In the past, there was a basin reserved with water from Jaeng Hua Lin making it abundant with fish. People used the Katam to catch fish around this corner and later the corner was named Jaeng Katam.
Suan Dok Gate – It was at first a garden of King Kuena who built Suan Dok temple in the garden.
Saen Prung Gate – This gate is also called Suan Prung. People of Chiang Mai used this gate as the gateway to move corpses to a graveyard.
Chiang Mai’s Gate – Formerly, it used to be a route to Lamphun, a town south of Chiang Mai. The gate was restored in the reign of King Kawila in about B.E. 2344 and then reconstructed during B.E. 2509-2512.
Changpuak Gate – The king of Chiang Mai had to go through this gate and into the city in his coronation ceremony. The name Changpuak is named after the “Changpuak Monument (white elephant)” constructed during B.E. 2509-2512.
Thapae Gate – The present Thapae gate was reconstructed in B.E. 2528-2529 based on evidence from history and archaeology. The models of this gate come from a photo taken in B.E. 2442.
When we look on Chiang Mai today, it is the economic, cultural and communication hub of northern Thailand complete with excellent basic structure, good roads, by passes and road tunnel. From now on, I’m not surprised that many people coming here are falling in love with the diverse city like Chiang Mai.
Climate
Chiang Mai has been known as a cool weather. It’s not too cold for the travelers, but sometimes it’s very hot and sunny on the season of summer. However, if we compare the season in Thailand, Chiang Mai is very cold, because there are places connected with the mountains.
The reality is that in the hot summer months (March till June), Chiang Mai can be just as uncomfortably hot as much of the rest of the country. The heat starts to increase soon after the New Year and by April or May it can be almost unbearably hot and humid.
The cool season runs from December to February, although there's usually just one week in December when temperatures are actually comfortable. However, from December to February the nights can be cool enough to require a jacket, so the appellation is not totally undeserved.
The rainy season some year is entirely bad time to visit since the rain generally falls within the span of an hour or two in the late afternoons. The rain cools down the temperatures a bit and cleans the air quite nicely. If it’s high temperatures, the rain is not too cold. It’s during on July to November.
Check the forecast in Chiang Mai right now. (www.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp)
Nature
- The nearby national parks include Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, Doi Suthep and Opkhan.
- Dokmai Garden [1] provides an introduction to the nature and culture of northern Thailand. With more than 650 plant species including 120 different vegetables, scientific names, multilingual aluminum signs and guides, it provides the background information needed to better enjoy gardens, national parks, food markets and restaurants. Dokmai Garden collaborates with the Thai Tourist Association, Chiangmai University (mushrooms), Maejo University (fishes), Chiangmai Zoo (birds), Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden (vascular plants) and Opkhan National park.
- Elephant Nature Park: Approximately 60 km (37 mi) north of the city or about one hour drive, the Elephant Nature Park is home to approximately 30 rescued elephants. You can visit the park with options ranging from a day trip to volunteering.
- Hill-tribe tourism and trekking: A large number of tour companies offer organized treks among the local hills and forests on foot and on elephant back. Most also involve visits to the various local hill tribes. These include representatives from the Akha, Hmong, Karen, and Lisu tribes.
- Also past San Khampaeng, about 45 minutes outside of the cities is the village of Mae Kon Phong. It's home to multiple tea and coffee plantations and also has an eco-friendly zipline tour, Flight of the Gibbon, that donates profits to gibbon conservation.
Population
Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s largest provinces with population about 1,500,000. Of the above number, around 170,000 are living in Chiang Mai's city area with the rest distributed throughout Chiang Mai's 22 districts and 2 sub-districts. There are 80% of the people are locals by birth, and speak a dialect that is a slight variation of the central Thai language. And 20% remaining is made up of Thai nationals and foreigners who have moved to Chiang Mai to work and study.
 |
Chiang Mai people are very friendly. If you come here and try to greet them, they will always smile and greet back you. Although you might not understand the northern language, I’m quite sure that you will get some food or fruit from your neighbors. |
Religion
Chiang Mai has been the centre of religious activity in Northern Thailand. Buddhism is the main religion and you can see from the evidences presenting by many ancient temples and Buddhist places in Chiang Mai. People in Chiang Mai about 85% are Buddhist and there are around 1,253 temples in this province. People always join the activities such as making merit and meditation at nearly temple on Buddhist holidays. Besides, there are other religions presenting in Chiang Mai. Don’t worry because we have 145 churches (both protestant and catholic), 14 mosques and 1 Hindu temple. |
|
|
Things to Do & See
