1.
Chiang Rai (city)
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Mueang Chiang Rai is a city in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai is the northernmost large city in Thailand and it was established as a capital city in the reign of King Mangrai, in 1262 CE. The city was founded by King Mangrai in 1262 and became the capital of the Mangrai Dynasty, subsequently, Chiang Rai was conquered by Burma and remained under Burmese rule for several hundred years. It was not until 1786 that Chiang Rai became a Chiang Mai vassal, siam annexed Chiang Mai in 1899, and Chiang Rai was proclaimed a province of Thailand in 1933. The beautiful jade figure was then seen concealed within, another telling of the story has the Emerald Buddha hastily covered in mud just before marauders entered to pillage. In 1992, the city pillar was moved from Wat Klang Wiang to Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong, where it is known as Sadue Mueang, the navel or omphalos of the city. Chiang Rai lies on the alluvial plain of the Mae Kok River. The Mae Kok River runs along Chiang Rais north side, flowing out of Burma at Tha Ton town, bending north-eastwards. The Lao River, a tributary of the Kok, flows south of Chiang Rai, there are four bridges spanning the Mae Kok river within the towns boundaries, each running south–north. Most of the terrain surrounding Chiang Rai town is flat or has moderate hills. The exception is outward in the west and north-west directions, where hills are evident. That is also the direction where most of the regions Hill Tribe people have their villages, the Golden Triangle, the tripoint of the Thailand, Laos and Myanmar borders, is 55 kilometres north-east of the city. Chiang Rai has a wet and dry climate. Winters are fairly dry and warm, temperatures rise until April, which is hot with the average daily maximum at 34.9 °C. The monsoon season runs from late April through October, with rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day. According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, with the spread of the city extending into neighboring districts, the metropolitan area is considered somewhat larger by local residents. Chiang Rai city is the city and business center of the Chiang Rai Province. 12. 5% of the population belong to hill tribes, a term for the minority ethnic groups in north Thailand such as the Karen, Akha, Lisu, Meo
2.
Chiang Saen District
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Chiang Saen is a district in the northern part of Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand. Chiang Saen is an important entrepôt for Thailands trade with countries on the upper part of Mekong River. The Chiang Saen District is to be the site of the worlds tallest flagpole when it is completed in 2017. The pole, to be 189 m tall, the equivalent of a 63-storey building, the originator of the project, Mr Trin Nilprasert, aims to promote Thainess and Thai identity. The flagpole is to be set in a park complete with a museum, no reliable written history of the city exists until the arrival of King Mengrai in the 13th century. His grandson, Saen Phu, ruler of the Lanna Kingdom, the city was sacked by Chao Kawila of Chiangmai during the reign of Rama I, because it had been the Burmese base of operations in the preceding years. The city was deserted, while its inhabitants resettled in other Bangkok-allied Lanna cities such as Lampang and Chiang Mai, several ancient ruins are found in the old cities. For example, Wat Pa Sak hosts a well-preserved Lanna-style phrathat, the mueang was converted into a district at the beginning of the 20th century in the thesaphiban reforms, with an additional branch or minor district also named Chiang Saen covering the central area. The minor district was abolished in 1925, the minor district was recreated two years later, then named Chiang Saen Luang. In 1939 the minor district was renamed Chiang Saen, while the former district Chiang Saen became Mae Chan, the minor district was upgraded to a full district on 6 April 1957. The Mekong River borders the north end of the district, forming the boundary with Laos, other important rivers are the Kok and the Ruak River, tributaries of the Mekong. The 1,328 m high Doi Luang Pae Mueang massif of the Phi Pan Nam Range rises at the end of the district. Neighbouring districts are Chiang Khong, Doi Luang, Mae Chan, to the north is the Shan State of Myanmar and Bokeo Province of Laos. The area around the confluence of the Mekong with the Ruak River is known as the Golden Triangle and this boundary region with Laos and Myanmar is now a popular tourist area, with several casinos on the Burmese side. The district is divided into six subdistricts, which are subdivided into 72 villages. Wiang Chiang Saen is a township which parts of tambon Wiang. There are a further six tambon administrative organizations, Chiang Saen travel guide from Wikivoyage Chiang Rai Province travel guide from Wikivoyage Chiang Saen data amphoe. com Birdwatching in Chiang Saen on thaibirding. com Yonok Wetlands near Chiang Saen —
3.
Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in Northern Thailand. It is 700 km north of Bangkok and is situated amongst the highest mountains in the country, the city sits astride the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River. Chiang Mai means new city and was so named because it became the new capital of the Lan Na kingdom when it was founded in 1296, succeeding Chiang Rai, the former capital founded in 1262. Chiang Mai gained prominence in the sphere in May 2006. Chiang Mai was one of three Thai cities contending for Thailands bid to host the World Expo 2020, ayutthaya, however, was the city ultimately chosen by the Thai Parliament to register for the international competition. Chiang Mai has positioned itself to become a Creative City and is considering applying for Creative City status with UNESCO, Chiang Mai was one of two tourist destinations in Thailand on TripAdvisors 2014 list of 25 Best Destinations in the World, where it stands at number 24. Chiang Mais historic importance is derived from its proximity to the Ping River. While officially the city of Chiang Mai only covers most parts of the Mueang Chiang Mai district with a population of 160,000, the Chiang Mai Metropolitan Area has a population of nearly one million people, more than half the total of Chiang Mai Province. The city is subdivided into four wards, Nakhon Ping, Srivijaya, Mengrai, the first three are on the west bank of the Ping River, and Kawila is on the east bank. Nakhon Ping district comprises the part of the city. Srivijaya, Mengrai, and Kawila consist of the west, south, the city center—within the city walls—is mostly within Srivijaya ward. King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai in 1296 on the site of a city of the Lawa people called Wiang Nopburi. Chiang Mai succeeded Chiang Rai as the capital of the Lan Na kingdom, Pha Yu enlarged and fortified the city, and built Wat Phra Singh in honor of his father Kham Fu. The ruler was known as the chao, with the decline of the Lan Na Kingdom, the city lost importance and was occupied by the Burmese in 1556. Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1775 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, because of Burmese counterattacks, Chiang Mai was abandoned 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. The modern municipality dates to a district that was created in 1915. It was upgraded to a municipality on 29 March 1935, as published in the Royal Gazette, first covering just 17.5 km2, the city was enlarged to 40.2 km2 on 5 April 1983
4.
Lan Na
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The Lan Na or Lanna Kingdom, also known as Lannathai, was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The Pali chronicles refers to the kingdom as Yonarattha or Yonkarattha or of Bingarattha, in the Chinese History of the Yuan it is called Pa-pai-si-fu, mentioned first in 1292. The cultural development of the people of the Northern Thai people had long before as successive kingdoms preceded Lan Na. As a continuation of the kingdom of Ngoenyang, Lan Na emerged strong enough in the 15th century to rival the Ayutthaya Kingdom, however, the Lanna Kingdom was weakened and became a tributary state of the Taungoo Dynasty in 1558. Lan Na was ruled by successive kings, though some enjoyed autonomy. The Burmese rule gradually withdrew but then resumed as the new Konbaung Dynasty expanded its influence, taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom finally conquered Lan Na in 1775 and broke it down into a number of tributary kingdoms. In 1262, Mangrai moved the capital from Ngoenyang to the newly founded Chiang Rai – naming the city after himself, Mangrai then expanded to the south and subjugated the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai in 1281. Mangrai moved the capital several times, leaving Lamphun due to heavy flooding, he drifted until settling at and building Wiang Kum Kam in 1286/7, staying there until 1292 at which time he relocated to what would become Chiang Mai. He founded Chiang Mai in 1296, expanding it to become the capital of Lan Na, claimed territories of Mangrais Lan Na include modern northern Thailand provinces, Kengtung, Mong Nai, and Chiang Hung. Around 1311, Mangrai died and was succeeded by his second son Grama and he soon retired to Chiangrai and appointed his son Saen Phu as the Uparaja of Chiangmai. Mangrais youngest son, ruler of Mong Nai returned to claim the throne, Saen Phu and his brother Nam Thuem fled to their father in Chiangrai. Nam Tuam succeeded in driving out their uncle, restoring Saen Phu onto the throne in 1322 or 1324, Saen Phu founded the city of Chiang Saen in 1325 or 1328, before he died in 1334. His son Kham Fu replaced him but reigned only few years, before he was succeeded by his son Pha Yu, there he fortified the city and built Wat Phra Singh. Theravada Buddhism prospered in Lan Na during the reign of religious Kue Na who established the dhatu of Doi Suthep in 1386, Kue Na promoted the Lankawongse sect and invited monks from Sukhothai to replace the existing Mon Theravada that Lan Na inherited from Haripunchai. Lan Na enjoyed peace under Saenmuengma, the only disturbing event was the failed rebellion by his uncle Prince Maha Prommatat. Maha Prommatat requested aid from Ayutthaya, borommaracha I of Ayutthaya sent his troops to invade Lan Na but was repelled. This was the first armed conflict between the two kingdoms, Lan Na faced invasions from the newly established Ming Dynasty in the reign of Sam Fang Kaen. The Lan Na kingdom was strongest under Tilokkarat, Tilokkarat seized the throne from his father Sam Fang Kaen in 1441
5.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
6.
Northern Thai language
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Northern Thai, Lanna, or Kam Mueang is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Tai language closely related to Lao, Northern Thai has approximately six million speakers, most of whom live in Thailand, with a few thousand in northwestern Laos. Speakers of this language generally consider the name Tai Yuan to be pejorative and they generally call themselves khon mueang, Lanna, or Northern Thai. The language is known by one of these terms or as Phayap. The term Yuan is still used for Northern Thais distinctive Tai Tham alphabet, which is closely related to the old Tai Lue alphabet. The use of the tua mueang, as the alphabet is known, is now largely limited to Buddhist temples. There is no production of literature in the traditional alphabet. The modern spoken form is called Kam Muang, There is a resurgence of interest in writing it in the traditional way, but the modern pronunciation differs from that prescribed in spelling rules. The Northern Thai language has various names in Northern Thai, Thai, in Northern Thai, it is commonly called kam mueang, or phasa lanna. In Lao, it is known as phasa nyuan or phasa nyon, in Tai Lü, it is known as kam yon. In Shan it is known as kwam yon, currently, different scripts are used to write Northern Thai. Northern Thai is traditionally written with the Tai Tham script, which in Northern Thai is called tua mueang or tua tham, however, native speakers are presently illiterate in the traditional script, therefore, they instead use the Thai script to write the language. In Laos, the Lao script is used to write Northern Thai. Some problems arise when the Thai script is used to write Northern Thai, in particular, Standard Thai script cannot transcribe all Northern Thai tones. The two falling tones in Northern Thai correspond to a falling tone in Thai. Specifically, Northern Thai has two types of falling tones, high-falling tone and falling tone, however, Thai lacks the distinction between the two falling tones, not having a high-falling tone. When using Thai script to write Northern Thai tones, the distinction of the two falling tones is lost because Thai script can only indicate a low falling tone. As an example, the distinction between /ka᷇ː/ and /kâː/ is lost when written in Thai since as only /kâː/ is permitted
7.
Thai language
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Thai, also known as Siamese or Central Thai, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people and the vast majority of Thai Chinese. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family, over half of the words in Thai are borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language, Thai also has a complex orthography and relational markers. Spoken Thai is mutually intelligible with Laotian, Thai is the official language of Thailand, natively spoken by over 20 million people. Standard Thai is based on the register of the classes of Bangkok. In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages, Isan, the language of the Isan region of Thailand, a collective term for the various Lao dialects spoken in Thailand that show some Siamese Thai influences, which is written with the Thai script. It is spoken by about 20 million people, Thais from both inside and outside the Isan region often simply call this variant Lao when speaking informally. Northern Thai, spoken by about 6 million in the independent kingdom of Lanna. Shares strong similarities with Lao to the point that in the past the Siamese Thais referred to it as Lao. Southern Thai, spoken by about 4.5 million Phu Thai, spoken by half a million around Nakhon Phanom Province. Phuan, spoken by 200,000 in central Thailand and Isan, Shan, spoken by about 100,000 in north-west Thailand along the border with the Shan States of Burma, and by 3.2 million in Burma. Lü, spoken by about 1,000,000 in northern Thailand, and 600,000 more in Sipsong Panna, Burma, nyaw language, spoken by 50,000 in Nakhon Phanom Province, Sakhon Nakhon Province, Udon Thani Province of Northeast Thailand. Song, spoken by about 30,000 in central and northern Thailand, Elegant or Formal Thai, official and written version, includes respectful terms of address, used in simplified form in newspapers. Rhetorical Thai, used for public speaking, religious Thai, used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks. Royal Thai, influenced by Khmer, this is used when addressing members of the family or describing their activities. Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts, street and Elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations. Rhetorical, religious, and royal Thai are taught in schools as the national curriculum, many scholars believe that the Thai script is derived from the Khmer script, which is modeled after the Brahmic script from the Indic family. However, in appearance, Thai is closer to Thai Dam script, the language and its script are closely related to the Lao language and script
8.
Mekong
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The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the worlds 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia and its estimated length is 4,350 km, and it drains an area of 795,000 km2, discharging 475 km3 of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through Chinas Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, in 1995, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission to assist in the management and coordinated use of the Mekongs resources. In 1996 China and Myanmar became dialogue partners of the MRC, the extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a trade route between western China and Southeast Asia. The English name Mekong derives from a form of Thai. In Thai and Lao, mae nam is used for any major river, as such, Thai and Lao locals often refer to it in English as the River Khong. In Khmer, Mékôngk is itself glossed as mother of water, from mé and taking kôngk as a form of kôngkea. The local names for the river include, Burmese, မဲခေါင်မြစ်, IPA, Chinese, 加果空桑贡玛曲, 扎那曲 and 扎曲 Zā Qū, upper reaches, 澜沧江, 瀾滄江 Láncāng Jiāng, middle and lower reaches, Khmer, មេគង្គ Mékôngk, ទន្លេមេគង្គ Tônlé Mékôngk, ទន្លេធំ Tônlé Thum. Tai of Sipsong Panna, น้ำแม่ของ, น้ำของ, the Mekong Basin has one of the worlds largest and most productive inland fisheries. An estimated two million tonnes of fish are landed a year, in addition to almost 500,000 tonnes of aquatic animals. Aquaculture yields about two tonnes of fish a year. Hence, the lower Mekong basin yields about 4.5 million tonnes of fish, the total economic value of the fishery is between US$3.9 and US$7 billion a year. Wild capture fisheries alone have been valued at US$2 billion a year and this value increases considerably when the multiplier effect is included, but estimates vary widely. An estimated 2.56 million tonnes of fish and other aquatic animals are consumed in the lower Mekong every year. Aquatic resources make up between 47 and 80 percent of protein in rural diets for people who live in the Lower Mekong Basin. Fish are the cheapest source of protein in the region and any decline in the fishery is likely to significantly impact nutrition. Fisheries contribute significantly to a diversified livelihood strategy for many people, particularly the poor and they provide a principal form of income for numerous people and act as a safety net and coping strategy in times of poor agricultural harvests or other difficulties
9.
Tai Lue
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Tai Lü or Tai Lɯ, Tai Lue, Thai Lue, Tai Le, Xishuangbanna Dai is a Tai language of the Lu people, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. This includes 280,000 people in China,200,000 in Burma,134,000 in Laos,83,000 in Thailand, and 4,960 in Vietnam. The language is similar to other Tai languages and is related to Kham Mueang or Tai Yuan. In Yunnan, it is spoken in all of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, as well as Jiangcheng Hani, Tai Lü has 21 syllable-initial consonants,9 syllable finals and six tones. The initials ts- and s- are palatalised before front vowels which in the language are i, e, for example, /tsíŋ/ hard and /si᷄p/ ten are pronounced as and respectively. The table below presents six phonemic tones in unchecked syllables, i. e. closed syllables ending in sonorant sounds such as, there are six tones for unchecked syllables, although only three are allowed in checked syllables. The table below presents two phonemic tones in checked syllables, i. e. closed syllables ending in a stop and obstruent sounds which are. Word order is usually subject–verb–object, modifiers follow nouns, as in Thai and Lao, Tai Lü has borrowed many Sanskrit and Pali words and affixes. Among the Tai languages in general, Tai Lü has limited intelligibility with Shan and Tai Nua and shares much vocabulary with, Tai Lü has 95% lexical similarity with Northern Thai, 86% with Central Thai, 93% with Shan, and 95% with Khun. Below, Thai words are shown on the left and Tai Lü language words, one is Fak Kham script, a variety of Thai script of Sukhottai. The second is Tham script and was reformed in the 1950s, the new alphabet is a simplified version of the old script. An ancient script, also used in Kengtung, Northern Thailand, Tham script is called 老傣文 lao dai wen in China. Readable by the most people and used in Burma, Laos, Thailand, vowels signs can be placed before or after the syllable initial consonant. Similar to the Thai alphabet, the pronunciation of the tone of a syllable depends on the class the initial consonant belongs to, syllable structure and vowel length, and the tone mark. Unicode range, U+1980 – U+19DF The Bajia people, who number 1,106 individuals in Mengkang Village, Menga Town, Menghai County, Yunnan, there are 225 Bajia people living in Jingbo Township 景播乡, Menghai County. The Bajia are also known as the Chinese Dai 汉傣, Tai Nüa language Tai Pong language Tai Dam language Dāo Shìxūn 刀世勋, Dǎi-Hàn cídiǎn 傣汉词典. This is a dictionary of Tai Lü in unreformed spelling, yu Cuirong, Luo Meizhen, Daile-Han cidian 傣仂汉词典. Hanna, William J, Dai Lue-English Dictionary, Chiang Mai, ISBN 978-6162150319 SeaSite, Tai Lue, under construction SIL Dai Banna Fonts Omniglot - Tai Lue script
; Thai: มังราย; 1238–1311), also known as Mengrai (Thai: เม็งราย),[Note 1] was the 25th king of Ngoenyang (r. 1261–1292) and the first king of Lanna (r. 1292–1311). He established a new city, Chiang Mai, as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom (1296–1558).[1][2][3]:195
