Lampang ( th, ลำปาง, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. The old name of Lampang was ''Khelang Nakhon''.

Geography

Lampang is in the broad river valley of the Wang River, surrounded by mountains. In Mae Mo district

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

is found and mined in open pits. To the north of the province is the high Doi Luang. Within the province are

Chae Son Chae, also spelled Chai, is a Korean family name and an element in some Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. Family name Overview The 2000 South Korean Census found 119,251 people with the family name Ch ...

and

Doi Khun Tan National Park Doi Khun Tan National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยขุนตาล) straddles the mountainous area of the Khun Tan Range in Lamphun and Lampang Provinces, northern Thailand. Established in 1975 as Thailand's ten ...

s in the

Khun Tan Range The Khun Tan Range ( th, ทิวเขาขุนตาน or, erroneously, ทิวเขาขุนตาล) is a mountain range that occupies a central position in Northern Thailand. Most of the range is located in Chiang Mai, west ...

, as well as Tham Pha Thai, Doi Luang National Park, and the

Huai Tak The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

Teak Biosphere Reserve in the Phi Pan Nam Range. The total forest area is or 70 percent of provincial area.

National parks

There are a total of eight national parks, six ofwhich are in region 13 (Lampang branch), Doi Luang in region 15 (Chiang Mai), and Wiang Kosai in region 13 (Phrae) of Thailand's protected areas. *

Tham Pha Tai National Park Tham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carl Tham (born 1939), Swedish politician *Hilary Tham (1946–2005), Malaysian-born American poet *Jason Tham, Indian dancer, choreographer and actor *Jennifer Tham (born 1962), Singapor ...

, * Doi Luang National Park, *

Mae Wa National Park Mae Wa National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่วะ) is a national park in Thailand's Lampang and Tak provinces. This mountainous park features scenic mountain viewpoints, waterfalls and caves. Geography Mae Wa N ...

, * Wiang Kosai national Park, * Doi Chong National Park, *

Chae Son National Park Chae Son National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติแจ้ซ้อน) is a national park in Lampang Province, Thailand. Home to the namesake Chae Son waterfall, the park is also host to caves and hot springs. Geography Cha ...

, , *

, , * Khelang Banphot National Park, ,

Wildlife sanctuaries

There are two wildlife sanctuaries, Doi Pha Muang in region 13 (Lampang branch) and Tham Chao Ram in region 14 (Tak) of Thailand's protected areas. * Doi Pha Muang Wildlife Sanctuary, *

Tham Chao Ram Wildlife Sanctuary Tham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carl Tham (born 1939), Swedish politician *Hilary Tham (1946–2005), Malaysian-born American poet *Jason Tham, Indian dancer, choreographer and actor *Jennifer Tham (born 1962), Singapor ...

History

Lampang is an ancient city of more than 1,300 years. It is mentioned in various legends in 11 different names; namely Kukkudnakhon, Lampakappanakhon, Srinakhonchai, Nakhon Vieng Kok Wua, Vieng Din, Kelang Nakhon, Nakhon Lampang Kam Kelang, Arlampang, Muang Lakorn, and Muang Nakhon Lampang. Lampang was built in 680. According in Yonok historical record, a hermit named Suphrom Ruesi built a town for Prince Anantayot, son of Queen Jamadevi of Haripunchai’s Lamphun. The town was first named Kelang Nakhon and then changed into Nakhon Lampang. In Yonok Chiang Saen period, Nakhon Lampang was governed by Khmer. It was later colonized by Burma and

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

in the period of King Thonburi about 250 years ago. Later, Lord

Thipchang Thip Chang ( th, ทิพย์ช้าง) or ceremonial name Phraya Thipphachak (พระยาทิพย์จักร) was sovereign of Lampang Province, Lampang during a period of sovereignty not subject to Bamar, Burman, Ayutthaya kingd ...

of Lampang has fought for Lamapng independence and established himself as Phraya Sulavalue Chaisongkram, King of Lampang in 1732. In 1764 Prince Kaewfa, son of Lord

governed Lampang and was the first ancestor of Na Lampang, Na Lamphun and Na Chiang Mai family. Prince Boonyawat Vongmanit was the last ruler of Lampang. Lampang was announced as a province in Thailand in 1892 in the reign of King Rama V.

Transport

The city is an important highway hub, with a four lane highway link to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, as well as a major highway to Phrae and the eastern Lanna provinces. Lampang is roughly a 1.5 hour bus ride to

. Lampang is a stop for the Chiang Mai-bound train, approximately 10 hours from Bangkok.

Lampang Airport Lampang Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานลำปาง) serves Lampang, the capital city of Lampang Province, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country ...

is served by Bangkok Airways (three flights daily to Suvarnabhumi Airport) and Nok air (four flights daily to Don Mueang) (Oct 2015).

Health

The main hospital of Lampang is Lampang Hospital, operated by the Ministry of Public Health.

Tourism

Lampang province is not visited by many tourists, only about 900,000 per year, most of them passing through. In early 2019, the provincial governor rolled out a program called "Lampang: Dream Destination" to raise the number of visitors to two million within two years.

Economy

Lampang is known for the production of ceramic goods and its mining operations. A great deal of ball clay, china stone, and

are extracted from the surrounding mountains. There are more than 200 ceramic factories in and around Mueang Lampang District. Most are small- to medium-sized operations producing novelties (plant pots, dolls), tableware, and building materials (tiles, railings). The largest

coal fired power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...

in Southeast Asia is in Mae Mo District near the

mining area. The plant uses lignite as fuel. The largest concrete plant is also north of Mueang Lampang. This is also powered by lignite. Limestone is another abundant rock mined in Lampang. Agriculturally, the province produces rice and pineapples.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows a white rooster inside the entrance to the Phra That Lampang Luang Temple. According to local legend, Buddha visited the province. The god

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

worried that the people would not wake up by themselves to show respect to Buddha, and therefore woke them by transforming himself into a white rooster. The provincial flower is the Heliconia (''Heliconia sp.''), and the provincial tree is the

Indian Elm ''Ulmus rubra'', the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm. Description ''Ulmus rubra'' is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a sprea ...

('' Holoptelea integrifolia''). According to the legend, this tree was planted in the temple during Buddha's visit.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 13 districts (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

s''). These are further divided into 100 subdistricts ('' tambons'') and 855 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

s'').

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Lampang Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 42 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Lampang has city (''

thesaban nakhon 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 ...

'') status. Khelang Nakhon, Lom Raet and Phichai have town (''

thesaban mueang 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 ...

'') status. Further 38 subdistrict municipalities ('' thesaban tambon''). The non-municipal areas are administered by 60 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (''ongkan borihan suan tambon'').

Human achievement index 2017

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the

Human achievement index Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

(HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.

Gallery

File:พระธาตุแห่งศรัทธา.jpg, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang File:10330 Lampang.jpg, Singha Lanna File:Wang River in Amphoe Mueang Lampang.jpg, Wang River File:Phra That Lampang Luang.jpg, Phra That Lampang Luang File:Burmese-style Wat Srichum, Lampang.jpg, Burmese-style Wat Srichum File:แจ้ซ้อน-3.jpg,

File:Chae Son Hot Spring.jpg, Hot springs at

References

External links

*
Province page from the Tourist Authority of ThailandGolden Jubilee Network province guide

{{Coord, 18, 41, 44.46, N, 99, 43, 32.33, E, region:TH-52_type:adm1st_source:dewiki, display=title Provinces of Thailand 1892 establishments in Siam