Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Province is in Northern Thailand. The Chiang Mai weather is always cooler than the rest of the country, with an average temperature of 25°C throughout the year. The city has plethora of things to see and things to do. The beauty of the mountains, hill tribe villages, and botanical gardens attracts millions of tourists to Chiang Mai every year. You can also enjoy a zoo and aquarium, a nocturnal zoo, and classic Northern Thai temples and architecture which are a fusion of Lanna, Mon, and Burmese styles.

The north of Chiang Mai borders the Shan state of Myanmar. Cross-border trade is allowed at Kew Pha Wok checkpoint in Amphoe Chiang Dao and Ban Lak Taeng checkpoint in Amphoe Wiang Haeng, so both are tourist sites and places for cultural exchanges between two nations.

The south is next to Amphoe Sam Ngao, Amphoe Mae Ramad, and Amphoe Tha Song Yang of Tak Province, with tourist attractions like Bhumibol Dam, Sam Ngao Cliff, Mae Kasa Waterfall, and Thee Mo Bo Waterfall.

The east is next to Amphoe Mae Fah Luang, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Rai, Amphoe Mae Suai, and Amphoe Wiang Pa Pao of Chiang Rai Province, Amphoe Mueang Pan and Amphoe Mueang Lampang of Lampang Province, and Amphoe Ban Thi, Amphoe Mueang Lamphun, Amphoe Pa Sang, Amphoe Wiang Nong Long, Amphoe Ban Hong, and Amphoe Li of Lamphun Province.

The west is next to Amphoe Pai, Amphoe Mueang Mae Hong Son, Amphoe Khun Yuam, Amphoe Mae La Noi, Amphoe Mae Sariang, and Amphoe Sob Moei of Mae Hong Son Province. Most popular places are Amphoe Pai, Pang Oung, and Doi Mae U-kho.

Chiang Mai has a long history. It was once the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. Nowadays it is a very modern city, similar to Bangkok.



Wat Chiang Man, the oldest Buddhist temple in the city City wall, north-west corner

History of Chiang Mai

Mangrai founded Chiang Mai in 1294 on the site of an older city of the Lawa people called Wiang Nopburi. Gordon Young, in his 1962 book The Hill tribes of Northern Thailand, mentions how a Wa chieftain in British Burma told him that the Wa, a people who are closely related to the Lawa, once lived in the Chiang Mai valley in "sizeable cities".

Chiang Mai succeeded Chiang Rai as the capital of Lan Na. Pha Yu enlarged and fortified the city, and built Wat Phra Singh in honor of his father Kham Fu.:226–227 The ruler was known as the chao. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall since nearby Taungoo Dynasty of the Bamar people was a constant threat, as were the armies of the Mongol Empire, which only decades earlier had conquered most of Yunnan, China, and in 1292 overran the bordering Dai kingdom of Chiang Hung.

With the decline of Lan Na, the city lost importance and was occupied by the Taungoo in 1556.Chiang Mai formally became part of the Thonburi Kingdom in 1775 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thonburi king Taksin helped drive out the Taungoo Bamar. Subsequent Taungoo counterattack led to Chiang Mai's abandonment between 1776 and 1791.Lampang then served as the capital of what remained of Lan Na. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading, and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of Northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.


Yi peng sky lantern festival San Sai

Global contact

In May 2006 Chiang Mai was the site of the Chiang Mai Initiative, concluded between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the "ASEAN+3" countries, (China, Japan, and South Korea). Chiang Mai was one of three Thai cities contending for Thailand's bid to host the World Expo 2020.Ayutthaya was ultimately chosen by the Thai Parliament to register for the international competition.

In early December 2017, Chiang Mai was awarded the UNESCO title of Creative City. In 2015, Chiang Mai was on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage inscription. Chiang Mai was one of two tourist destinations in Thailand on TripAdvisor's 2014 list of "25 Best Destinations in the World", where it stands at number 24.

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