Wat Chiang Man

Wat Chiang Man is located on Ratchaphakkinai Road. It is Chiang Mai's oldest wat complex and features typical Northern Thai temple architecture as well as housing several ancient artifacts.

King Mengrai, the provincial capital's founder, built the wat in 1297. It is situated on the very site he used to direct the rest of the city's construction. The wat also served as his residence for a short time.

The Chang Lom chedi is the wat's oldest structure, which is in a style that probably originated from Pagan or from Sri Lanka via Sukhothai. Beneath the chedi are fifteen elephants (symbols of royalty) that represent 'a sea of unformed matter' on which the cosmos of the chedi floats. In addition to the bot, the wat has two wihan and a raised scripture repository. Khru Ba Srivichai renovated the larger wihan in 1920 and the smaller one contains two very important Buddhist images. The 'stela' in front of the bot is inscribed 1581 and is one of the oldest known records establishing the founding date of Chiang Mai.

The Phra Sila Buddha image is a marble bas-relief standing about 30cm high, probably from Sri Lanka and dating from the 8th century. The image is believed to be able to bring rain and is the focus of a special festival held each year from 1st to 5th April.

The wat also houses the well-known Phra Sae Tang Khamani, a crystal seated Buddha image that once belonged to Queen Chamadevi. It stands just 10cm high and was thought to have been brought to the wat from Lavo (now Lopburi) 1800 years ago. Over the years it was shuttled back and forth between Thailand and Laos, very much like the revered Emerald Buddha. The image is honored for its powers to protect against disaster.

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