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Welcome to Chiang Mai, a city built on the
roots of a traditional heritage that dig deep
into the soil of time.
Sawadee Jao is what you will hear when coming
to Chiang Mai, the old capital city of the
Lanna Kingdom. Dating back more than 700
years, Chiang Mai, the second largest
metropolitan, next to Bangkok. Chiang Mai means
"The
New City".
It's a city with a
beautiful cultural personality of its own. In
addition, it's been blessed with much majestic
beauty in nature. Chiang Mai is also famous for its
handicrafts. Nature has made it stand out,
thanks to the majestic mountains and valleys
and its beautiful scenery: hills, mountain
streams, lakes, field, waterfalls, caves, hill
tribe villages, orchid, butterfly farms,
elephant camps & trekking tours and river
rafting expeditions. Handicrafts of silk, silver
and wood are timeless souvinirs for visitors
from all over the world. The people them self are
unforgettable part of Chiang Mai. They are
proud of the city's history.
Chiang Mai is not one stop town. Once
experience its charm, many will definitely
want to have a second stay or perhaps even
settle down here. Chiang Mai is a city of
distinct beauty that has its own cultural
heritage. Chiang Mai is basically a city of a
thousand temples. You take a walk in any part
of the city and you can't just escape from
seeing old temples.
Often called "The Rose of the North",
Chiang Mai is one of the few places in
Thailand where it is possible to find in the
heart of the city centuries old chedis and
temples next to modern convenience stores and
boutique hotels. The original city layout
still exist as a neat squire surrounded by a
moat with vistiges of the fortifies wall and
its four main gates.
Geography With an altitude of about 310 meters
(1,027 feet) above
sea level, nestled in a valley, Chiang Mai is about 700 kilometrs
from Bangkok on the Mae Ping River.
Surrounded by high mountain ranges, de city
covers an area of approximately 20 square
kilometers and is the country's second largest
province.
Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters is the highest
mountain peak in Chiang Mai.
The city borders Myanmar on the
north, Lamphun and Tak Provinces on the south,
Chiang Rai, Lampang and Lamphun Provinces on
the east and Mae Hong Son Province on the
west. The terrain is mainly comprised of
jungle and mountains, home of the
hill tribes. Climate
There are three main season here in Chiang
Mai :
Cool Season (late October to Mid February),
average temperature is 21 C)
Summer Season( February to May, average
temperature is 30 C);
Rainy Season (June to October, average
temperature is 25C).
Religion
Of the total population, 80% of the people
were born here. Their dialect is slightly
different from the central Thai language.
Majority of the people are Buddhist. There are
more than 1,200 temples, 3,500 monks and 6,000
novices. Among these temples, 300 reflect the
influences of various cultures - Lanna Thai,
Burmese, Sri Lankan and Mon. |
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