Rai Khing ( th, ไร่ขิง, ) is a '' tambon'' (subdistrict) of

Sam Phran district Sam Phran ( th, สามพราน, ) is the southernmost district ('' amphoe'') of Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. History The district was established in 1896, then named Talat Mai District. It was renamed Sam Phran in 1917. The name '' ...

, Nakhon Pathom province, western outskirts Bangkok.

History

Rai Khing is not known exactly how long this area has been in existence. It only know that there are

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

who settled in the area because it was suitable for planting

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. Ginger was widely cultivated in large numbers, hence the name "Rai Khing" (ginger farm) since then. Famous local

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

Wat Rai Khing 250px, Luang Por Wat Rai Khing Wat Rai Khing ( th, วัดไร่ขิง, ; ) is another prominent and notable temple in Nakhon Pathom province in addition to Wat Phra Pathom Chedi, which is the provincial temple. Wat Rai Khing is locate ...

, according to the history, it was built in 1851 during the reign of King

Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...

(Rama IV) and was named Wat Rai Khing, so it is assumed that Rai Khing subdistrict existed before the temple. In the pre-1960s, Tha Chin water bus from Suphan Buri– Tha Tian in Bangkok also passed in front of the temple.

Geography

Rai Khing is considered to be the central part of the district with

Tha Chin River The Tha Chin river ( th, แม่น้ำท่าจีน, , ) is a distributary of the Chao Phraya river, Thailand. It splits near the province of Chai Nat and then flows west from the Chao Phraya through the central plains, until it empt ...

(locally known as Nakhon Chai Si River) flows through the area. It is about west of downtown Sam Phran and about from downtown Nakhon Pathom. It has a total area of approximately 25.4 km² or approximately 15,875 rai. Most of the general characteristics are vast plains with fertile land, and have good irrigation conditions with Tha Chin River as the main water resource emptying through and can be branched into 20 tributaries. The general condition of all waterways can still be used for consumption such as farming. The area is hemmed by other subdistricts (from north clockwise): Bang Krathuek and Bang Toei in its district, Krathum Lom in its district and

Om Noi , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = From top to bottom: Mayor Office of Om Noi and Om Noi Municipality Vocational College , image_flag = , image_seal ...

in Krathum Baen District of neighbouring Samut Sakhon Province, Om Yai and Tha Kham in its district, and Tha Talat with Song Khanong in its district, respectively.

Administration

The entire area of Rai Khing is governed by Rai Khing Municipality (เทศบาลเมืองไร่ขิง). It was promoted from the subdistrict municipality in 2008 and upgraded to a major town municipality in 2015. Rai Khing also consists of 14 administrative ''

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 ...

'' (village). The emblem of the town municipality shows Luang Phor Wat Rai Khing, the highly revered principal Buddha statue of Wat Rai Khing. Its slogan is "Rai Khing's Smile and Happiness".

Places

*Wat Tha Phut

Local traditions

* Worshiping Luang Phor Wat Rai Khing during the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

Festival every year. * Gilding Luang Phor Wat Rai Khing is held annually at Wat Rai Khing during April shortly before the

Songkran Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam and ...

Festival. *

Tak Bat Devo Tak Bat Devo ( th, ตักบาตรเทโว, , ) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated annually in Central Thailand a day after Wan Ok Phansa, the first day of the 11th waning moon. This is the celebration in order of Buddha's return ...

and listening to sermons, including gilding Luang Phor Wat Rai Khing during the Buddhist Lent Festival around October. * Loi Krathong Festival at Wat Tha Phut.

Transportation

Rai Khing is accessible by the main road, Phet Kasem (Highway 4), that runs through the south to the northwest near the area. The subdistrict is crossed by Phutthamonthon Sai 6 Road (Highway 3316) that runs along Tha Chin River meander in the northwest of the area. Air-conditioned bus route 84 runs from

Krung Thon Buri BTS Station Krung Thon Buri station ( th, สถานีกรุงธนบุรี, }) is a BTS Skytrain station, on the Silom Line in Khlong San District, Bangkok, Thailand. The station is on Krung Thon Buri Road. It was the first station of Bangkok' ...

in Bangkok to the destination at Wat Rai Khing. While air-conditioned bus route 556 runs from nearby Don Wai Market and terminates at

Bobae file:BobaeTower.jpg, Bobae Tower and Prince Palace Hotel file:BobaeStreetVendors.jpg, Street stalls Bobae Market ( th, ตลาดโบ๊เบ๊, , ), usually shortened to ''Bobae'', is a well-known cheap clothing market, both retail and whol ...

in Bangkok, passed in front of Wat Rai Khing as well.

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=https://www.raikhing.go.th/index.php?p=1 Tambon of Nakhon Pathom province