Sing Buri ( th, สิงห์บุรี, ) is one of the central
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'') of
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 ...
. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise)
Nakhon Sawan
Nakhon Sawan ( th, นครสวรรค์, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Thailand, the name literally means "Heavenly City". The city is the capital of Nakhon Sawan Province, and covers the complete subdistrict (''tambon'') Pak Nam P ...
,
Lopburi
Lopburi ( th, ลพบุรี, , ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is about northeast of Bangkok. It has a population of 58,000. The town (''thesaban mueang'') covers the whole ''tambon'' Tha Hin and parts of Th ...
,
Ang Thong
Ang Thong ( th, อ่างทอง, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Ang Thong Province. The town covers the entirety of ''tambon'' Talat Luang and Bang Kaeo as well as parts of the tambon Sala Daeng, Ban Hae, Ban It, ...
Chai Nat
Chai Nat ( th, ชัยนาท, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chai Nat province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' tambon Nai Mueang and parts of Ban Kluai, Tha Chai and Khao Tha Phra, all in Mueang Chai Nat ...
.
Toponymy
The word ''sing'' originates from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''
singh
Singh (IPA: ) is a title, middle name or surname that means " lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it eventually became a common surname adopted by different comm ...
'' meaning 'lion' and ''buri'', from Sanskrit ''puri'' meaning '' buri mueang'' 'fortified city' or 'town'. Hence the
literal translation
Literal translation, direct translation or word-for-word translation, is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately, without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence.
In Translation studies, trans ...
is 'lion city', sharing the same root as
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
Geography
Sing Buri is located on the flat river plain of the
Chao Phraya
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
E ...
River valley. Eighty percent of the areas are wide flat areas, of which the soil is suitable for agriculture. There are a small number of slopes in swamps of different sizes. The highest average height of the area is 17 meter above sea level. Floods will occur during the rainy season. The total forest area is or 0.5 per mille of provincial area.
Climate
Sing Buri province has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
category Aw). Winters are dry and warm. Temperatures rise until May. The monsoon season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. Climate statistics: the maximum temperature is 41.4 °C (106.5 °F) in April and the lowest temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) in December. The highest average temperature is 36.8 °C (98.2 °F) and the minimum average temperature is 20.6 °C (69.1 °F). Annual average rainfall is 1,125 millimeters with mean rainy days is 17.6 in September. Maximum daily rainfall is 203.4 millimeters in October.
History
The area of Sing Buri held an important position in early Thai history from 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 down to the Ayutthaya period. The city was originally on the banks of the Chaksi River. The first relocation was to the west of the
Noi River
The Noi River ( th, แม่น้ำน้อย, , ) is a river in Thailand.In Buri, Phrom Buri and
Sing Buri
Sing Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of the Sing Buri Province. It lies 141 km north of Bangkok. The town covers the whole ''tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Be ...
were merged. In 1895 the three districts came under control of Krung Kao province ("Old capital"), monthon Krung Kao. In 1896 the city was moved to its final destination in Bang Phutsa subdistrict. In 1917 Mueang district changed its name to Bang Phutsa district. In 1938 the government changed the name of the capital district to be the same as the name of the province. So Bang Phutsa district uses the name Mueang Sing Buri until today. In 1939 Sing district was renamed Bang Rachan district.
Symbols
The provincial seal presents the history of Khai Bang Rachan. When the Burmese attacked Ayutthaya in 1765, 11 leaders with villagers from
Bang Rachan
The village of Bang Rachan ( th, บางระจัน, ) was in the north of Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam, the predecessor state of modern Thailand. Today their village is located in Khai Bang Rachan District of Sing Buri Province. ...
fought the army when it stopped north of Ayutthaya. They managed to delay them for five months before they were finally defeated, soon thereafter Ayutthaya fell as well. Annually on 4 February a ceremony is held in remembrance of these local heroes. This story was also made into a movie in Thailand.
* Old seal was created in 1940, shows the fort Khai Bang Rachan.
* New seal was adopted in 2004, shows the eleven leaders who fought the Burmese.
The provincial tree is the Red Sandalwood Tree (''Adenanthera pavonina'').
Administrative divisions
Provincial government
The province is divided into six 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''). The districts are further subdivided into 45 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'' ...
As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Sing Buri Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 8 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Sing Buri and Bang Rachan 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 6 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 33 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.