Mae Chai ( th, แม่ใจ, ) is a small town and subdistrict (''

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'' ...

'') in

Mae Chai District Mae Chai ( th, แม่ใจ, ) is a district ('' amphoe'') of Phayao province in northern Thailand. History The District Mae Chai was abolished on 23 December 1917 and was incorporated into Mueang Phan district. It was recreated as a minor d ...

, in Phayao Province,

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 bo ...

. It is the principal town in the district. The town is split with ''tambon'' Si Thoi. As of 2005, it has a population of 5,094 people. It is in the northwestern part of the province not far from the border with

Lampang Province 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 ...

. It lies along National Road 1 (Phahon Yothin Road), and is connected by road to

Phayao Phayao () is a city (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phayao Province. For administrative purposes the city is divided into 15 sub-districts (''tambons''), which are further subdivided into 172 administrative villages. The t ...

in the south. To the north along the highway are Pa Faek and then Mae Yen across into Chiang Rai Province. The ''tambon'' has 10 villages under its jurisdiction. It lies partly within Mae Puem National Park. Mae Chai River is the river running through the area.

Economy

In the 1950s, the area was reported to be heavily forested but it saw an extraordinary growth in rice production in the 1990s. The tambon also has great conditions with temperature and rainfall for highland wheat production, which has been exploited in villages such as Pha Daeng with improved technology.

Red kidney beans The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There ar ...

are also grown in the area.

References

Tambon of Phayao province Populated places in Phayao province {{Phayao-geo-stub