Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ;

Northern Thai Kam Mueang ( nod, , กำเมือง) or Northern Thai language ( th, ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely rela ...

: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise)

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 ...

Lampang Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for La ...

, and Tak.

Geography

Lamphun is in 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 ...

valley. It is surrounded by mountain chains, with the

Thanon Thong Chai Range The Thanon Thong Chai Range ( th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัย, , formerly Thanon Range; Burmese ''Tanen Taunggyi'') is a mountain range in northern Thailand. Its tallest peak is Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Most ...

in the west and 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 ...

in the east of the province. It is some 670 kilometres from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and 26 kilometres from

. The total forest area is or 57.8 percent of provincial area. Lamphun is regarded as the smallest province of northern region of Thailand.

National parks

There are a total of three national parks, two ofwhich are in region 16 (Chiang Mai) and Doi Chong in region 13 (Lampang branch) of Thailand's protected areas. *

Mae Ping National Park Mae Ping National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่ปิง) is at the southern end of the Thanon Thong Chai Range, in Lamphun, Tak, and Chiang Mai Provinces in northern Thailand. Established on 13-07-1981, it is an IUC ...

, *

Mae Takrai National Park Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. Histor ...

, * Doi Chong National Park,

Wildlife sanctuaries

There area two wildlife sanctuaries in region 16 (Chiang Mai) of Thailand's protected areas. * Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary, * Doi Phu Muang Wildlife Sanctuary,

History

Under its old name of Haripunchai, Lamphun was the northernmost city of the Mon kingdom of the

Dvaravati The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th ce ...

period, and also the last to fall to the Thai. In the late-12th century it came under siege from the Khmer, but did not fall. However, in 1281 King Mengrai of Lan Na finally seized the city, and made it part of his kingdom. After Burmese expansion in the 16th century, Lamphun was under Burmese rule for two centuries. In the 18th century, with the rise of Thonburi and Bangkok against Burmese rule, local leaders from Lampang agreed to be their allies. Lamphun was finally freed from the Burmese and ruled by relatives of Lampang's leader, gaining vassal status from Bangkok. Eventually, after the administrative reform of Bangkok government in the late-19th century, Lamphun became part, as a province, of Siam.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the temple Wat Phra That Haripunchai, which was already the main temple of the city Lamphun during Mon times. The gold-covered chedi is said to contain a relic of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

. The provincial flower is the Flame of the Forest (''Butea monosperma''), and the provincial tree is the

Rain Tree Rain tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Albizia saman'', a tree in the family Fabaceae, native to a range extending from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil *''Brunfelsia'' a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Sola ...

(''Samanea saman'').

Transport

* Air: Lamphun is served by Lamphun Airport. * Rail: Lamphun's main station is Lamphun Railway Station.

Foods

Kaeng khae ''Kaeng khae'' ( th, แกงแค, ) is a curry of northern Thai cuisine. The curry is named after the '' Piper sarmentosum'' leaves, one of its main ingredients, which are known as ''phak khae'' in northern Thailand. Ingredients This curry ...

, a spicy curry consisting mainly of vegetables with chicken, frog, fish or snails. *Kuaitiao lamyai, stewed pork noodles soup with dried

longan ''Dimocarpus longan'', commonly known as the longan () and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambu ...

, originated in Lamphun.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into eight 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 51 subdistricts (''

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 ''khwaeng'' ...

s'') and 551 villages ('' mubans''). For national elections the province is divided into three constituencies. Constituency 1 covers the Mueang District except Tambon Makhuea Chae; Constituency 2 the districts Pa Sang, Mae Tha, and ''Tambon'' Makhuea Chae of Mueang District; and Constituency 3 the districts Ban Hong, Thung Hua Chang, and Li.

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Lamphun Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 40 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Lamphun has 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 39 subdistrict 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 ...

''). The non-municipal areas are administered by 17 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:LamhunWPTHaripch200107c.jpg, The

-style chedi of Wat Phra That Hariphunchai File:LamhunWPTHaripch200107b.jpg, The viharn and golden chedi of

Wat Phra That Hariphunchai Wat Phra That Hariphunchai ( th, วัดพระธาตุหริภุญชัย) is a Buddhist temple (''wat'') in Lamphun, Thailand. The temple's origins date from the 11th century but the central stupa is thought to originate in the ...

References

External links

*
Provincial websiteLamphun province, Tourism Authority of Thailand
{{Coord, 18, 34, 45, N, 99, 0, 23, E, type:adm1st_region:TH, display=title Provinces of Thailand