Chiangmai: Map & History
Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second-largest city in Thailand by urban population.
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Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second-largest city in Thailand by urban population. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands, and has a population of approximately 127,000 within the city municipality and an urban population of about 1.2 million as of 2023.
Modern Countries Once Part of Chiangmai
At its mapped extent, Chiangmai covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Chiangmai's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Chiangmai in Depth
History
Mangrai founded Chiang Mai in 1294 or 1296 on a site that the Lawa people called Wiang Nopburi.
The modern municipality dates to a sanitary district (sukhaphiban) that was created in 1915; it was upgraded to a city municipality (thesaban nakhon) on 29 March 1935. First covering just 17.5 square kilometres (6.8 sq mi), the city was enlarged to 40.2 square kilometres (15.5 sq mi) on 5 April 1983.
In May 2006, Chiang Mai was the site of the Chiang Mai Initiative, concluded between ASEAN and the "ASEAN+3" countries, (China, Japan, and South Korea). Chiang Mai was one of three Thai cities contending for Thailand's bid to host the World Expo 2020. Ayutthaya was ultimately chosen by the Thai parliament to register for the international competition.
Government
The Administration of Chiang Mai Municipality is responsible for an area that covers approximately 40.216 square kilometers and consists of 4 Municipal Districts, 14 sub-districts, 94 municipal communities, and 89,656 households.
According to Municipal Act B.E. 2496 (1953, reviewed in 2003), the duties of the Municipality cover a lot of areas which include clean water supply, waste and sewage disposal, communicable disease control, public training and education, public hospitals and electricity, etc.
The mayor, or the highest executive, is directly elected by the eligible voters in the municipal area. The mayor serves a four-year term and is assisted by no more than four deputy mayors appointed directly by the mayor.
Economy
In February 2017, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) (under Thailand's Digital Economy and Society Ministry) announced that 36.5 million baht would be invested into developing Chiang Mai into an innovation-driven "smart city". Chiang Mai was the second city in Thailand, after Phuket and along with Khon Kaen, to be developed using the "smart city" model. The model aims to capture and populate multiple levels of information (including building, social, environmental, governmental, and economic data) from sources like sensors, real-time traffic information, and social forums for access by managers, governments, and citizens using mobile apps, tablets, and dashboards.
Culture
Loi Krathong (along with Yi Peng), held on the full moon of the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar, being the full moon of the second month of the old Lanna calendar. In the Western calendar this usually falls in November. Every year thousands of people assemble floating banana-leaf containers (krathong) decorated with flowers and candles and deposit them on the waterways of the city in worship of the Goddess of Water. Lanna-style sky lanterns (khom fai or kom loi), which are hot-air balloons made of paper, are launched into the air.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chiang Mai (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chiangmai: Key Facts
| Founded | 13th century |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q52028 (CC0).
Chiangmai Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Chiangmai appears, with the other states of the time.
Chiangmai Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 65,306 km² in 1882 CE.
Chiangmai: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Chiangmai exist?
Chiangmai is dated to 1775 CE – 1884 CE, in the Industrial era.
How large was Chiangmai at its peak?
At its peak in 1882 Chiangmai covered about 65,306 km².
How did the map of Chiangmai change over time?
Chiangmai appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 1800 CE to 1850 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
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