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Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Probably Chiang Mai's best-known temple, housing the Phra Singh image, completed between 1385 and 1400. Of most historical interest is the Wihan Lai Kham in the back, featuring Lanna-style temple murals and intricate gold patterns on red lacquer behind the altar. The large chedi was built in 1345 by King Pha Yu to house the remains of his father King Kam Fu. A typical scripture repository is located at this temple as well. These repositories were designed to keep and protect the delicate sa or mulberry paper sheets used by monks and scribes to keep records and write down folklore. The high stucco-covered stone base of the repository protected the delicate scriptures from rain, floods, and pests. The walls of the chapel are covered with murals illustrating Lanna customs, dress and scenes from daily life. The lovely Lai Kam chapel houses the revered Phra Singh Buddha image. The head was stolen in 1922, and a reproduction is now seen. Your admission ticket is in a leaflet form containing useful information and map of Wat Phra Singh complex. The temple is most attractive during Songkran, the Thai New Year, in mid-April.
Wat Phra Singh (full name: Wat Phra Singh Woramahaviharn; Northern Thai: ᩅᩢ᩠ᨯᩕᨻᩈᩥᨦ᩠ᩉ᩺ᩅᩴᩬᩁᨾᩉᩣᩅᩥᩉᩣ᩠ᩁ; Thai: วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร; RTGS: Wat Phra Sing Wora Maha Wihan; is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. It is the place where the image of Phra Buddha Sihing is enshrined.
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วัดพระเจ้าเม็งราย. Sometimes called Wat Phra Jao Mengrai
An atmospheric temple with two wihan buildings, off the beaten track, quiet and gently crumbling. One of the wihan buildings houses an important Buddha image: Phra Buddha Rupa Phra Chao Mengrai.
วัดเจดีย์หลวงวรวิหาร
Almost in the centre of Chiang Mai are the remains of a massive chedi that toppled in the great earthquake of 1545. The temple was originally constructed in 1401 on the orders of King Saeng Muang Ma. In 1454, reigning King Tilo-Garaj enlarged the chedi (pronounced jedee) to a height of 86 m. After the earthquake, the chedi lay in ruins until 1991-92, when it was reconstructed at a cost of several million baht. A magnificent testament to Lanna (northern Thai) architecture and art, restored sections hint at its former glory. Wat Chedi Luang is also home to the "Pillar of the City", a totem used in ancient Thai fertility rites.
หอประวัติศาสตร์เมืองเชียงใหม่
This modern multimedia history and cultural education centre has guides dressed in elegant traditional Thai clothing who will usher you into an air-conditioned room to watch an English-subtitled orientation video about Chiang Mai and the north. Next, you will be pointed to a series of rooms documenting the region's history and culture in chronological order from the pre-Muang period (7,000-12,000 years ago) to the early river civilizations, to the early kings through the wars with the Burmese and the last dynasty, to the city today and its plans for the future. Other rooms are devoted to Buddhism and other regional beliefs, agricultural history, hill tribe peoples and other regional cultures, and a run-down of the royal dynasties. The exhibits consist of a smart visual mix of video, scale models, enlarged photos, wall murals and text in Thai and English. This complex also shared with the Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre
Khum Museum
Located in the Khum Chao Burirat Mahain Building, a two storey house as an example of the western influence on native architecture in early Chiang Mai times, there are videos, photos, and models about traditional Thai buildings. You can also buy postcards, pencils, and tees about Khum Chao Burirat there. There are several stamps of Thai building pictures to stamp on your booklet.
พิพิธภัณฑ์ธนารักษ์ จังหวัดเชียงใหม่
One of two money museums in Thailand, focused on northern Thailand, run by government treasury department, in a heritage building. It is small: plan 1 hr to see, need to take off shoes.
Community culture space that often hosts workshops like mini loom weaving or meditation.