Fang or "Wiang Fang" ("wiang" is a walled city or town) is a town in the northern

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

, Thailand, also known as

Thesaban 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 ...

Wiang Fang, the capital of Fang District. It is 154 km north of Chiang Mai, among the highest mountains in the country.

History

According to the Yonok chronicle, Mueang Fang was built in 641 by King Lawa Changkarat. Later King Mengrai the Great reigned in Fang before building Wiang Kum Kam and Chiang Mai of the

Lanna Kingdom The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...

for one year around 1268. It seems that Mengrai used Mueang Fang for the base to invade Hariphunchai.

Etymology

The landscape of Fang looked like the seed of a fang tree (''

Caesalpinia sappan ''Biancaea sappan'' is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood. Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (''Paubrasilia echinata''), and ...

''). The town was named after the tree.

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) Mu 1, 10 Tambon San Sai, Mu 7 (Ban Mea Jai) Tambon Wiang, Mu 2, 4 Tambon Wiang, and Mu 2 Tambon Wiang.

Administration

The town is subdivided into 12 boroughs ("chumchon"), which include five villages ('' muban'') of the Wiang subdistrict - Mu 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9.

Education

The school structure is divided into four key stages: the first three years in elementary school, Prathom 1–3, are for ages 6–8; the second level, Prathom 4–6 are for children 9–11; the third level, Matthayom 1–3, is for ages 12–14. The upper secondary level of schooling consists of Matthayom 4–6 for ages 15–17 and is divided into academic and vocational streams. There are academic upper secondary schools, vocational upper secondary schools, and comprehensive schools offering academic and vocational tracks. Students who choose the academic stream usually intend to enter a university. Vocational schools offer programs that prepare students for employment.

Secondary school (Prathom 1 – Matthayom 3)

# Ban Wiang Fang School (public) # Saiaksorn School (private)

High school (Prathom 1–Matthayom 6)

Rangsee Vittaya School (

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

)

Technical college

Thana Technology International College Chiang Mai (private)

Climate

Fang has a

tropical wet and dry 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 ...

''Aw''). Winters are fairly dry and warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is average around year at . The

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

season runs from late-April through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

References

External links

*{{Wikivoyage-inline, Fang Cities and towns in Thailand Populated places in Chiang Mai province Cities and towns in Chiang Mai province