700 years of Chiang Mai history

Posted by Arda on June 24th, 2007 filed in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, Thai Fine Art, Thai Culture, Thailand travel

By Mark Donnan

Chiang Mai, affectionately known as the Rose of the North, is the principal city of Northern Thailand. The city’s history can be traced back 700 years to the Lanna Kingdom. The Lanna Kingdom, the word ‘Lanna’ meaning ‘a million rice fields’, covered a vast area of modern day northern Thailand as well as areas of Laos, Burma and China.

The original site for the city was unsuccessful due to the ever present problem of flooding. Several centuries later, the ruins of the original site in the Ping Valley were uncovered. Wiang Khum Kham is still a tourist attraction today, lying to the southeast of Chiang Mai.

The city of Chiang Mai was built in 1296 as the new capital of the Lanna Kingdom and is therefore oozing with history. The location, chosen by King Mangrai in cooperation with King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai and King Ngam Muang of Phayao, was a fertile area along the Ping River. Sightseeing in Chiang Mai

The Three Kings Monument still stands at the junction of Phra Pokklao and Inthawarorot roads. This can be considered a monument to the foundation of the city of Chiang Mai. As well as the trading benefits of the river, the location at the foot of a mountain, Doi Suthep, provided the city with timber and is now home to one of the most holy Buddhist temples in Thailand.

Powerful empires surrounded the Lanna Kingdom. The Khmer Empire of Angkor to the east, the Burmese Empire to the west, China to the north and the Siamese of Ayutthaya to the south. It was from the north that Thai people gradually moved south and established themselves in the Lanna Kingdom. The kingdom slowly engulfed the tribes that inhabited the valleys. The Mon people in particular brought with them a unique culture and traditions.

The Lanna Kingdom was well established by the 15th century. It was during this period that the kingdom enjoyed its most successful years. At its peak, the kingdom controlled most of what is now northern Thailand, the Burmese Shan states, northwestern Laos and part of southern China’s Yunnan province. The official religion of the kingdom was Buddhism, the cultural influence of which is still very prominent in Chiang Mai and the wider region today.

Long lasting temples (wat) began to be established. The first temple to be built in Chiang Mai was Wat Chiang Mai, built during the 13th century. Two very important and revered Buddha figures are located in this temple; Phra Satang Man (a crystal Buddha) and Phra Sila (a marble Buddha).

Another ancient temple called Wat Phra Singh was built in 1345. It offers an architectural example of vintage northern Thai style. Wat Phra Singh is home to the Phra Singh Buddha, a highly venerated figure which was transferred from Chiang Rai centuries ago. Perhaps the city’s most famous landmark however is the moat, which was added around this time. The moat was designed to keep the Burmese from seizing the city.

The Lanna Kingdom had other enemies as well as the Burmese. Lanna fought many wars with the Siamese Thai of Ayutthaya and it was these conflicts that left the kingdom weakened. The downfall of the kingdom came when the Burmese invaded Chiang Mai in 1558, led by King Bayinnaung.

The Burmese remained in control of Chiang Mai for two centuries before the northern Thais united with Siam forces, led by King Taksin, to remove the suppressive Burmese rulers. The removal of the Burmese from Chiang Mai was essential to King Taksin as he realised that by controlling Chiang Mai, the Burmese had a good foot hold in Lanna and could easily attack and further invade Siam. The Burmese had already defeated the Siamese once at Ayutthaya, forcing Siam to resettle and move its capital to Thonburi (Bangkok).

The removal of the Burmese came at a price and left Chiang Mai uninhabited. During this time, Lampang acted as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. It wasn’t until 1796 that the city of Chiang Mai was officially re-established by Chao Kawila. Kawila was appointed by King Taksin as viceroy of Chiang Mai. It was during this time that the city walls were rebuilt around the moat. These are the walls that visitors to Chiang Mai can still see to this day.

The new population was comprised of Shan, Tai Khoen from Kengtung and Tai Yong from Muang Yong, east of Kengtung, as well as local people. Today, the ethnic make up of Chiang Mai can be traced back to the people who settled under Chao Kawila. These people were of Tai ethnicity, but as they became mixed with locals and other ethnic groups, their differences began to disintegrate leaving only very subtle distinctions.

Greater economic cooperation between Chiang Mai and Siam eventually led to King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) taking control of Chiang Mai’s administrative duties in 1892. This was partly due to the commodity of teak in the forests of the north and the growing interest western powers had in this resource.

The most prominent of the western powers to show an interest was the British. This was the main reason for Rama V imposing more of a central rule on Chiang Mai, from Thonburi. Finally, Chao Dara Rasami helped to incorporate Lanna into the Kingdom of Siam. Thus, with the death of Chao Inthravichayanon, the last ruler of the dominion of Chiang Mai, the Bangkok government annexed Chiang Mai to Siam.

The British began logging on a massive scale, not without problems though. Permission from the ruler of the city was required before logging could be carried out. At first, Bangkok did not interfere. However, with the growing value of timber and a lack of regulations for concessions and taxes, problems began to occur. Killings became common along the border region and the British sought help from Bangkok to ensure the safety of its loggers.

The 1873 Treaty of Chiang Mai was to lead to total control of Chiang Mai by Bangkok. Siam’s rulers feared that if it did not guarantee the safety of the British loggers, they would take control of the area themselves and thus political problems would follow.

Trade and economic links with Siam grew stronger with the opening of a rail link in 1921. With this railway and the telegraph service, Chiang Mai was no longer an isolated part of Siam. Following the revolution of 1932, Chiang Mai became completely involved with Siam politics. This revolution was the end of absolute monarchy in Siam and so Chiang Mai became a province of the Kingdom of Siam. It wasn’t until 1949 that Siam changed its name to Thailand. Full Thailand history

Chiang Mai was to be changed forever during WWII under Japanese occupation. While exploring the north by road, it is impossible not to notice the mountainous terrain. Many of these roads were built by forced labour under the Japanese, allowing today’s tourists to enjoy and experience northern Thailand’s highlights by road.

It is this spectacular scenery and terrain as well as the relaxed approach northern Thai’s have to life that have attracted so many visitors to Chiang Mai since the tourist boom it experienced in the 1990s.

A mile stone for the city was 1992 when Chiang Mai celebrated its 700 year anniversary. This remarkable, ancient, northern Thai city has certainly survived the test of time and is now home to an ever growing expat community. An increasing number of tourists visit each year, eager to experience real Lanna style Thailand.