28 Chiang Mai old thailand

Chiang Mai  [1292-1558](Thailand)

The Chiang Mai kingdom(also called LanNa)in what is today northern Thailand, was founded by the Thai ruler of Chiang Rai, Mangrai, who conquered the ancient(9th century) Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya and built a new capital at Chiang Mai in 1296. Under Mangrai and his successors Chiang Mai became not only powerful but also a centre for the spread of Theravada Buddhism to Thai peoples in what are now northeastern Myanmar, southern China, and northern Laos. Under Tilokaracha (ruled 1441-87), Chiang Mai became famous for its Buddhist scholarship and literature. It was conquered by the Toungoo  and incorporated into the Burman empire in 1558 but the central Thai states of Ayutthaya and Bangkok challenged Burman control over the area. In 1774, the Thai king Taksin drove out the Myanma; but Chiang Mai retained a degree of independence from Bangkok until the late 19th century.

Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand and the third largest city in the nation after Bangkok and Khorat(Nakhon Ratchasima). It is located on the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River, near the centre of a fertile intermontane basin at an elevation of 335 meters. It serves as the religious, economic, cultural, educational, and transportation centre for both northern Thailand and part of neighbouring Myanmar. The older part of town and particularly the 18th-century walled settlement, is on the west bank of the river; it contains ruins of many 13th and 14th century temples of which Wat Phra Sing (1345) that houses Phra Sing, the most venerated Buddha figure of the north and Wat Chedi Luang (1411) that held Bangkok's famous Emerald Buddha during the 15th and 16th centuries. Just outside the city, at an elevation of 1,073 m on the slopes of Mount Suthep, stands the temple complex of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep which is one of Thailand's most famous pilgrimage sites. Phu Ping Palace, the summer home of the Thai royal family, is also nearby