 Chiang
Rai province has a great deal in common with other provinces
in the north especially regarding religious beliefs and culture.
Nevertheless, it remains completely different when compared
to the central, northeastern and southern Thai provinces.
The name associated
and normally given to define the distinctive culture of the
north of Thailand is simply called Lanna culture. The term
“Lanna”, meaning “kingdom of a million rice fields” is derived
from the ancient Lanna Tai kingdom that was established in
this northern region some seven hundred years ago.
For centuries,
the Lanna Tai kingdom covered not only the whole of northern
Thailand, but also parts of Yunnan in southern China, the
Shan states in Burma and north western Laos as well. Naturally
such close contact and association meant a great deal of influence
and style would inevitably be adopted from them. In fact,
the distinct flavor and influence of these countries - in
particular Burma, is still very evident in Chiang Rai province
today.
Particularly
noticeable and illustrative of a prolonged Burmese influence,
are the square tiered towers to be found on many of the temples
within the province. Place names too reflect an obvious Burmese
presence and these can be seen throughout much of Chiang Rai.
 Over
the years Thai and Lanna royalty also intermarried resulting
in an exciting mixture of rich diverse cultures which are
unique to the area. Today there are many facets to the distinctive
northern Lanna culture, including in food, clothes, arts,
crafts, dialect, customs and festivals.
As is the
case with most of Thailand’s provinces, the majority of the
population in Chiang Rai province are devout Theravada Buddhists.
Even to the casual visitor this is fairly apparent, due to
the large number of beautiful temples that can be seen throughout
both the cities and countryside. In the larger towns, Muslims,
Mahayana Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians are also to be found,
but in far fewer numbers.
Some exceptions regarding
religious beliefs are those of the various hilltribes who
dwell within the steep mountain slopes of the province. The
majority are recognized to be predominantly animist – meaning
they worship the nature spirit world. In recent years, western
missionaries have also converted some of the hilltribe people
to Christianity.
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