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Chiang Mai General Information

King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning "new city") in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lannathai kingdom. Mengrai constructed a moat and a wall around the city to protect it against raids from Burma. With the decline in power of the Lannathai kingdom, the city lost importance and often was occupied by either the Burmese or Thais from Ayutthaya. As a result of the Burmese wars that ended with the fall of Ayutthaya in April 1767, Chiang Mai was so depopulated that its remaining inhabitants abandoned the city from 1776 to 1791. During that time, Lampang functioned as the capital of what remained of Lannathai.

Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774, when the Thai King Taksin captured it from the Burmese. Chiang Mai rose in both cultural, trading and economic terms to adopt its current status as the unofficial capital of the north of Thailand, second only in national importance to Bangkok.

The people generally speak Kham Muang (also known as Northern Thai or Lanna) amongst themselves, but the Central Thai of Bangkok is used in education and is understood by most. The old Kham Muang alphabet is now only studied by scholars and Northern Thai is commonly written using the standard Thai alphabet.

The modern municipal entity dates back to a sanitary district (sukhaphiban) created in 1915. It was upgraded to a municipality (thesaban) on March 29 1935, as published in the Royal Gazette, Book No.52 section 80. At first covering an area of 17.5 km², it was enlarged to cover 40.216 km² on April 5, 1983.

Chiang Mai has great shopping and an internationally renowned night bazaar. There are two very large shopping malls at Airport Plaza and Central Kad Suan Keaw, both with the shops found in large cities in most countries. There are also streets with vendor booths that line the streets after dark, selling all types of merchandise including antiques, silks, silver, art, electronics, and knock-off and copycat merchandise, such as watches, handbags, and designer label clothing, all at very negotiable prices.

• Night Bazaar is a huge market covering a long outdoor stretch of Chang Khlan Road between Tha Phae Road and Si Donchai Road, with the centre of the maelstrom in the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Building, three stories of shopping under a Thai temple-style roof. It's not just a place to shop, but possibly Chiang Mai's largest tourist attraction, with products from Northern Thailand and neighboring countries, especially those associated with Thailand's hill tribes - but take all claims with a grain of salt and bargain hard for good prices.
• Sunday Market starts around 14:00 and lasts until 22:00, (during the rainy season it doesn't start until 17:00 hrs) with local craftpersons operating stalls along Rajdumnern Road on the inner-east side of the moat near Tapae Gate. The street is blocked off from traffic so there is plenty of room to walk. Unlike the sellers on Chang Khlan Road, who peddle many fake designer goods, excellent hand made items are displayed and sold. At the 5 temples on this road you can enjoy real Northern Thai food and snacks.
• Saturday Market on Wualai Road (the street that shoots off at an angle just outside the Chiang Mai gate on the south side of the old city) officially starts at 17:00, although the road will be closed to cars from about 14:00 onwards; it's pretty much over by 23:00. It's the old silver working district, and some shops stay open late on this day. Like the better-known Sunday Market, there's lots of food and local crafts.
• Warorot Market (กาดหลวง Kad Luang) - north of Nawarat Bridge and west of the Ping River between Thapae Roads and Chang Moi Road. This sprawling outdoor market is where the locals shop, and is well worth a visit for those who enjoy shopping for fabrics, clothes, herbs and spices and hard to find items. It also includes a beautiful flower market and fruit, and out-of-this-world fireworks stands.

Chiang Mai's restaurants offer a wide range of food, second only to Bangkok. Naturally it's a good place to sample northern Thai food: in particular, hunt down some khao soi, yellow wheat noodles in curry broth traditionally with chicken or beef, but available some places as vegetarian or with seafood. For those tired of eating rice or noodles there's also a wide range of excellent western food restaurant in Chiang Mai, from cheap hamburger stands to elaborate Italian eateries.

• Just Kao Soy - a reasonably priced restaurant with excellent kao soy. Available in Mild, Medium, or Hot, and "Traditional Myanmar" or "Chiang Mai Classic" (brewed with coconut milk). The curry broth is vegetarian, and then they cook in the meats/seafood/vegetables of your choice. Comes with a variety of condiments to "fine tune" your curry to your tastes. In 2007, will be expanding to open restaurants in other cities in Thailand, and eventually other parts of Southeast Asia.
  

Chiang Mai hosts many Thai festivals, including:

• Loi Kratong (known locally as Yi Peng): Held on a full-moon night in November. Every year thousands of people assemble floating banana-leaf containers (krathong) decorated with flowers and candles onto the waterways of the city to worship the Goddess of Water. Lanna-style hot-air lanterns (khom fai) are launched into the air. These are believed to help rid the locals of troubles and are also taken to decorate houses and streets.
• Songkran: Held in mid-April to celebrate the traditional Thai new year. Chiang Mai has become one of the most popular locations to visit for this festival. A variety of religious and fun-related activities (notably the good-natured city-wide water-fight) take place each year, along with parades and a Miss Songkran beauty competition.
• Flower Festival: A three-day festival held during the first weekend in February each year, this event occurs when Chiang Mai's temperate and tropical flowers are in full bloom. The festivities include floral floats, parades, traditional dancing shows, and a beauty contest.

Chiang Mai has several universities, including Chiang Mai University, Rachapat Chiang Mai University, Rajamangala University of Technology, Payap University, and Maejo University — as well as numerous technical and teacher colleges. Chiang Mai University was the first government university established outside of Bangkok.

Chiang Mai is a regional centre for a number of activities, including:

• Hill-tribe tourism and trekking: A large number of tour companies offer organised treks among the local hills and forests on foot and on elephant back. Most also involve visits to the various local hill tribes. These include representatives from the Akha, Hmong, Karen, and Lisu tribes.
• Elephant Nature Park: Approximately 60km north of the city or about one hour drive, the Elephant Nature Park is home to approximately 30 rescued elephants. You can visit the park with options ranging from a day trip to volunteering.
• Other outdoor activities: The varied local terrain offers opportunities for mountain biking, elephant riding, bamboo rafting, and kayaking. The area has several golf courses. The nearby national park that includes Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, features many hiking trails.
• Shopping: Chiang Mai has a large and famous nightly bazaar for arts, handicrafts, and counterfeit products of all descriptions, and a number of large, well-appointed modern shopping centres.
• Thai massage: The back streets and main thoroughfares of Chiang Mai have a variety of massage parlours which offer anything from quick, simple, face and foot massages, to month-long courses in the art of Thai massage.
• Local museums: These include the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre, the Hill Tribe Museum, and the Chiang Mai National Museum.
• Thai cookery: A number of Thai cooking schools have their home in Chiang Mai (see also Thai food)