Chiang Mai is the largest province (changwat) of Thailand by area.ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง การกำหนดเขตตำบลในท้องที่อำเภอสามเงา จังหวัดตาก (ฉบับที่ ๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๓ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง การกำหนดเขตตำบลในท้องที่อำเภอดอยเต่า จังหวัดเชียงใหม่ (ฉบับที่ ๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๗ It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.8 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lampang and Lamphun to the south, Tak to the southwest, Mae Hong Son to the west, and Shan State of Burma to the north. The capital, Chiang Mai, is north of Bangkok. Older towns stood on the plain before it. The city was the capital of the Lan Na kingdom from its founding in 1296.
Geography Chiang Mai province is about from Bangkok in the Mae Ping River basin and is on average at elevation. Surrounded by the mountain ranges of the Thai highlands, it covers an area of approximately . The Daen Lao Range () lies at the north end of the province and the Khun Tan Range in the east. The Thanon Thong Chai Range () runs from north to south and holds the highest mountain in Thailand, Doi Inthanon, at . All three ranges are covered by rain forest. The Mae Ping, one of the major tributaries of the Chao Phraya River, originates in the Daen Lao mountains. Several national parks are in the province: Doi Inthanon, Doi Suthep-Pui, Ob Luang, Sri Lanna, Huai Nam Dang, Mae Wang, and Pha Daeng. The total forest area is or 69.6 percent of provincial area.
National parks Fourteen of the fifteen national parks of region 16 (Chiang Mai) lie in Chiang Mai province. The exception is Mae Ping National Park. (Visitors in fiscal year 2024).
Si Lanna National Park (89,382) Huai Nam Dang National Park (121,109) Pha Daeng National Park (39,534) Op Luang National Park (36,270) Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park (70,129) Doi Inthanon National Park (853,856) Mae Tho National Park (1,387) Mae Takrai National Park (24,983) Doi Wiang Pha National Park (939) Doi Suthep–Pui National Park (296,088) Op Khan National Park (98,972) Khun Khan National Park (18,053) Mae Wang National Park (66,042) Namtok Bua Tong– (385,316) Namphu Chet Si National Park
Wildlife sanctuaries Three of the four wildlife sanctuaries of region 16 (Chiang Mai) lie in Chiang Mai province. Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary does not. Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary Samoeng Wildlife Sanctuary
Climate Chiang Mai has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen Aw), tempered by the low latitude and moderate elevation, with warm to hot weather year-round. Nighttime conditions during the dry season can be cool and are much lower than daytime highs. The maximum temperature ever recorded is in May 2005.
Demographics
Of the population, 13.4 percent in the province are members of hill tribes.
Northern Thai people or Tai Yuan native to nine provinces in Northern Thailand, principally in the area of the former kingdom of Lan Na. Tai Lue live in dwellings of usually only a single room wooden house built on high poles. They are skilled in weaving. Tai Yai, Burmese in origin, harvest rice, farm, raise cattle and trade. Their craftsmanship lies in weaving, pottery, wood carving and bronze ware. Akha the largest population of any hill tribe in the region. Originating from Tibet and Southern China, they dwell on high ground around above sea-level. Within their villages they build a spirit gateway to protect them from evil spirits. Hmong from southern China. Prefer higher elevations. They raise livestock and grow rice, corn, tobacco, and cabbage. Known for their embroidery and silver. Karen occupy valleys and riverbanks. Lahu from southern China and live in high areas. They are known as hunters and planters. Lisu from southern China and Tibet are renowned for their colorful dress and also build their dwellings on high poles. They harvest rice and corn and their men are skilled in hunting. Yao reside on mountainsides and grow corn and other crops. They are skilled blacksmiths, silversmiths and embroiders. Mon, native to Haripuñjaya, whose capital was at Lamphun.
Symbols The seal of the province shows a white elephant in a glass pavilion. The white elephant is a royal symbol in Thailand, and it is depicted to remember the offering of a white elephant by Thammalangka, a ruler of Chiang Mai, to his overlord, King Rama II of Bangkok. The pavilion stands for the prosperity of Buddhism in Chiang Mai, and particularly for the review of the Tripitaka there in 1477.
The provincial flower and tree is the "flame of the forest" (Butea monosperma). The edible cyprinid fish "black sharkminnow" (Labeo chrysophekadion) is the provincial aquatic life.
The provincial slogan is "In the shadow of Mount Doi Suthep, blessed with rice customs and traditions, beautiful wild flowers, magnificent Nakhon Phing".
History
Older towns stood on the plain before Chiang Mai. At Wiang Tha Kan in San Pa Tong district, surveys found antiquities in the Lopburi style, and Sujit Wongthes compared the name with the Wiang Takan of the Mūlasāsanā. The province has also yielded Old Mon inscriptions. Christian Bauer listed five that are absent from H. L. Shorto's dictionary of the Mon inscriptions, one of them Jm.45 from Wiang Mano in the same district. Bp. 422/2524 comes from Wiang Tho, and two votive images from Saraphi, registered 23/2523 and 24/2523, are now in the National Museum, Lopburi. The fifth is an unregistered tablet thought to come from the same site, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. All five, Bauer held, antedate the inscriptions from the Lamphun sites. He read the epigraphy as showing that Mon use persisted longer in the region south of Lamphun and Chiang Mai than in the Chao Phraya basin. Mon inscriptions there are attested from the 12th to the 13th centuries, after which the language gave way to Thai.
The city of Chiang Mai, the capital of Chiang Mai province, was also capital of the Lan Na kingdom after its founding in 1296, during the same period of time as the establishment of the Sukhothai Kingdom. Chiang Mai was thereafter the capital of Lan Na and the centre of Buddhism in northern Thailand. Mangrai built many temples in the region.
In 1558, Chiang Mai became a colony of the First Toungoo Empire. Chiang Mai remained its colony for more than 200 years, until the Burmese–Siamese War (1775–1776). In 1774 the Burmese colonial regime was driven out of Chiang Mai by a coalition of Lan Na and Siamese forces. It then became a tributary state of Siam, which later installed a Lan Na chieftain ally, Kawila, to independently rule over Lampang and Chiang Mai region as a monarch.
During the reign of King Rama V of Siam, under his administrative centralization policy, Chiang Mai lost its independence, was annexed and became a second-level subdivision of Siam.
Chiang Mai has had the status of a province since 1933.
Religion
Administrative divisions and postal codes
Chiang Mai is subdivided into 25 districts (amphoe). The districts are further divided into 204 subdistricts (tambon) and 2,066 villages (muban).
The number after each district name indicates its postal code.
Mueang Chiang Mai: 50000 Chom Thong: 50160 Mae Chaem: 50270 Chiang Dao: 50170 Doi Saket: 50220 Mae Taeng: 50150 Mae Rim: 50180 Samoeng: 50250 Fang: 50110 Mae Ai: 50280 Phrao: 50190 San Pa Tong: 50120 San Kamphaeng: 50130 San Sai: 50210 Hang Dong: 50230 Hot: 50240 Doi Tao: 50260 Omkoi: 50310 Saraphi: 50140 Wiang Haeng: 50350 Chai Prakan: 50320 Mae Wang: 50360 Mae On: 50130 Doi Lo: 50160 Galyani Vadhana: 50270The code 25 was assigned to a planned district named Wiang Kham, which however wasn't created.
Local government As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organisation () and 121 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Chiang Mai has city (thesaban nakhon) status. Mae Jo, Mae Hia, Mueang Kaen Phatthana and Ton Pao have town (thesaban mueang) status. A further 116 are subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 89 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Human achievement index 2022 Health Education Employment Income 65 25 66 50 Housing Family Transport Participation 70 42 67 12 Province Chiang Mai, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6179 is "low", occupies place 68in the ranking.
Since 2003, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) took over this task in 2017. RankClassification 1–13"High"14–29"Somewhat high"30–45"Average"46–61"Somewhat low"62–77"Low" Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings
Transportation
Road: Chiang Mai is on Highway 11, the only 2-digit road number in the province. Other roads connect the city of Chiang Mai with the north and south of the province, as well as with the east towards Chiang Rai province. Train: Chiang Mai railway station is the northern terminus of the Northern Line, operated by the State Railway of Thailand. Air: Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) is one of the seven Thai international airports under the aegis of the Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT). Chiang Mai International Airport is the major gateway to northern Thailand. Fourteen airlines serve it, and it handles more than 3,000,000 passengers, 15,000 flights and 16,000 tons of cargo a year. Songthaew
Tourism
Chiang Mai province is the tourist hub of the north and one of the country's main tourist destinations. It is regarded as scenic for its mountain ranges, valleys, flora and fauna, and the Hang Dong Canyon is among its visitor attractions. In some months the climate in Chiang Mai and the north is cool, unlike most of Thailand.
Location protected areas Overview protected areas of Chiang Mai National park 1 Doi Inthanon 2 Doi Pha Hom Pok 3 Doi Suthep-Pui 4 Doi Wiang Pha 5 Huai Nam Dang 6 Khun Khan 7 Mae Takhrai 8 Mae Tho 9 Mae Wang 10 Namtok Bua Tong 11 Op Khan 12 Op Luang 13 Pha Daeng 14 Si Lanna Wildlife sanctuary 15 Chiang Dao 16 Mae Lao-Mae Sae 17 Samoeng
Health Each amphoe of Chiang Mai has its own hospital. The largest, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital and Nakornping Hospital, are in Mueang Chiang Mai district.
Local products Chiang Mai is a handicrafts centre, with a variety of antiques, silver jewellery, and embroidery, Thai silks and cottons, basketry, celadon, silverware, furniture, lacquerware, woodcarvings, and parasols.
Local culture The culture of northern Thailand is Lan Na in origin. The region has distinctive food, music, arts, way of life and language. Chiang Mai is home to various hill tribes and their own distinctive cultures.
Local food
Nam phrik ong is a type of Nam phrik chili paste which is made of minced pork and tomatoes. It is usually eaten with soft-boiled vegetables, pork crackling, or deep-fried crunchy rice cakes. Nam phrik num meaning "chili paste young man", is another kind of paste which can be eaten with pork crackling. Sai ua is a local sausage that is very aromatic and spicy and is usually eaten with sticky rice. Kaeng meaning "curry", is not made with coconut milk in the north. Kaeng hang-le is northern-style pork curry Kaeng om is a spicy curry consisting of intestines Kaeng khae is a spicy curry consisting mainly of vegetables. Khanom chin nam ngiao is a traditional northern noodle dish with chicken or pork. Khao soi is a noodle dish which can be made from chicken, pork, or beef made with coconut milk and garnished with chopped fresh shallots, pickled cabbage, chilli paste to taste, and a slice of fresh lime.
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