Why is Chiang Mai’s history and culture long?

Chiang Mai is an ancient cultural city with a long history. Archaeological discoveries show that humans lived and lived there as far back as 2,000 years ago. But it was not established as the capital of Thailand until 1296 by King Mengrai of the Lanna Dynasty, and became the economic, cultural and religious center of the northern Thai dynasty at that time. During the era of King Mengrai, Chiang Mai gradually developed into a powerful kingdom in northern Thailand. It carried out large-scale construction projects, built many temples, Buddha statues, and built moats. To defend and resist the invasion of the Burmese army.

Chiang Mai was captured by the Burmese army in 1556, and the Burmese occupied Chiang Mai until 1775, when King Taksin drove the Burmese army back to the Thai-Myanmar border, and Chiang Mai was recaptured. Since the Burmese army occupied Chiang Mai for a long time, Burmese culture, religion, architecture, language and cooking have had a great impact on Chiang Mai, such as the famous Pasin Temple and Chedi Luang Temple.

In addition to its strategic location, Chiang Mai is also adjacent to a branch of the ancient Silk Road in the south. Through this trade channel goods from China and Burma were sent to the Gulf of Siam. The valley here is wide, the land is fertile, and the grain is abundant. Therefore, the Lanna Kingdom was very prosperous in history, and Chiang Mai once became its political and economic center.

From the early 18th century to the 19th century, a local monarch named "chao" nominally ruled the city. At that time, Chiang Mai was not under the jurisdiction of the Siamese Dynasty in Bangkok. After Chulalongkorn (Emperor Rama V) ascended the throne in 1874, he took back control of Chiang Mai. In 1939, Chiang Mai officially became part of the Kingdom of Thailand and became the administrative center of northern Thailand. In 1996, Chiang Mai held commemorative and celebration activities for the 700th anniversary of the founding of the city. In recent years, foreign tourists have been pouring in here because Chiang Mai is the center of Thai handicrafts. The handmade umbrellas, silverware and wood carvings here are famous at home and abroad.

Culture

Chiang Mai is full of rich cultural and artistic atmosphere. When you first arrive in this ancient city, you will have a strong feeling. First, take a tuk-tuk to the city to see the ancient city walls and temples. When night falls, you might as well go to the Mae Bin River to light water lanterns and enjoy the night view. When Thailand's ancient Loy Krathong Festival comes, young men and women will put down a lamp by the water and light candles, which means that love will always be sweet. More than 100 kilometers north of Chiang Mai, there is a village where the "long-necked people" live. Girls here wear copper rings on their necks and limbs from the age of five. As they grow older, the number of copper rings on their bodies continues to increase. Increasingly, it is common to see girls in the village walking as fast as they can while carrying more than ten kilograms of copper rings. Now that this nation is on the verge of extinction, I don’t know how long this unique national culture can survive.

Chiang Mai is an important town for handicrafts in Thailand. You can buy Thai paper umbrellas, Thai silk, silverware, wood carvings, etc. at the night market. People who like Taobao love this place very much. Interested tourists can go to Chiang Mai Handicraft Village to see how they are produced. In the village of hand-painted paper umbrellas, you will be amazed at the complexity of the craftsmanship of a small umbrella. Before leaving, let the craftsmen paint your favorite patterns on your clothes, and it will become a unique work of art in the world. .

There are two places you must visit when visiting Chiang Mai. One is the Elephant School. This elephant school built in the forest not only gathers nearly a hundred elephants, but the elephants who have been trained are very smart and can communicate well with people. For example, when they perform a show, tourists give them food, and they will Express gratitude; when giving money, if there is an elephant trainer around, he will hand it over honestly. If there is no elephant trainer around, he will rush to the stall to buy bananas to satisfy his greed. These elephants can play football and have goalkeepers to save the ball when it hits the goal. The most amazing thing is that some elephants can also draw. Among them, the paintings painted by one of the elephants are no worse than those of famous painters. When decorated, it is an abstract modern painting with great ideas. Another place is the famous Golden Triangle, which is the place where poppies were grown in the past. Although the poppies are gone and the drug trade in the Mekong River has been cancelled, the poppy exhibition hall is worth seeing and the Mekong River is worth a visit.

Legend

There is a statue of the Three Kings in front of the palace hall in Chiang Mai, which tells that the city of Chiang Mai received help from the other two kings. Legend has it that King Manglai discovered the appearance of white sambar, white deer and white mice, which are considered auspicious symbols, during a hunting trip, so he decided to build a city here. King Manglai had a friendly treaty with King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai and King Ngam Muang of Phayao, and they were like brothers. When they built the city of Chiang Mai, they got two Wang was very helpful and gathered 90,000 people to participate in the construction of the city. The completed Chiang Mai City is surrounded by an 18-meter moat and is a rectangle, 1,800 meters wide from east to west and 2,000 meters long from north to south.