Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai ( th, จอมทอง, ) is a district (''
amphoe'') in the southern part of
Chiang Mai province
Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...
in northern
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
.
History
According to the legend of ''
Wat
A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」 （w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...
'' Phra That Si Chom Thong Worawihan, the temple is on a small hill which looks similar to a termite hill (''chom pluak'' in Thai). The hill is covered by ''thong kwao'' or Bastard teak (''
Butea monosperma'') and ''Thong Lang'' or coral tree (''
Erythrina variegata
''Erythrina variegata'', commonly known as tiger's claw or Indian coral tree, is a species of '' Erythrina'' native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the In ...
'') forest. Thus the people called the hill Chom Thong.
After Buddha entered
parinirvana
In Buddhism, ''parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') is commonly used to refer to nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth a ...
,
King Asoka the Great visited the hill to place Buddha's relics there. The temple was built on the hill and named Wat Phra That Chom Thong in 1451. Later the temple was upgraded to be royal temple and at the same time renamed Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong Worawihan.
The government created a district in the area in 1900 and named the new district Chom Thong following the legend. The district office was originally in Ban Tha Sala, Tambon Khuang Pao. In 1933 the office was moved to the southwest of Wat Phra That Chom Thong.
Geography
Neighbouring districts are (from the south clockwise):
Hot
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a wine tasting descriptor
Places
* Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
**Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
,
Mae Chaem,
Mae Wang,
Doi Lo of Chiang Mai Province;
Wiang Nong Long, and
Ban Hong of
Lamphun province
Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Tak.
Geography
Lamphun is ...
.
The important watercourse is the
Ping River
The Ping River ( th, แม่น้ำปิง, , ), along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After p ...
.
Doi Inthanon National Park
Doi Inthanon National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยอินทนนท์), nicknamed "the roof of Thailand", is in the Thanon Thong Chai Range, Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. It i ...
is in this district.
Administration
Central administration
Chom Thong is divided into six sub-districts (''
tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 '' khwaen ...
s''), which are further subdivided into 103 administrative villages (''
mubans'').
Missing numbers are ''tambons'' which now form Doi Lo District.
Local administration
There are six sub-district municipalities (''
thesaban tambon
Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system.
The mu ...
'') in the district:
* Ban Luang (Thai: ) consisting of parts of sub-district Ban Luang.
* Sop Tia (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Sop Tia.
* Ban Pae (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Ban Pae.
* Doi Kaeo (Thai: ) consisting of parts of sub-district Doi Kaeo.
* Mae Soi (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Mae Soi.
* Chom Thong (Thai: ) consisting of parts of sub-districts Ban Luang, Khuang Pao, and Doi Kaeo.
There is one
sub-district administrative organization (SAO) in the district:
* Khuang Pao (Thai: ) consisting of parts of sub-district Khuang Pao.
References
External links
Amphoe.com on Chom Thong
{{Authority control
Chom Thong