Kamphaeng Phet ( th, กำแพงเพชร, ) is a

province 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 out ...

in upper

central Thailand Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) ...

. It borders the provinces of Sukhothai to the north;

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...

to the northeast;

Phichit Phichit ( th, พิจิตร, เมือง) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Phichit Province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Phichit district, an area of 12.017 km². As of 2005 i ...

to the east;

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 ...

to the south; and Tak to the west and northwest, covering over and is the fourth-largest provinces in central Thailand. Kamphaeng Phet has 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 ...

flow through is main river of the province, making river flats make up much of the east of the province, while the west is mountainous which is part of Dawna Range and it covered with plentifully forest. Kamphaeng Phet known its natural beauty and has a long history, its many important places such as Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park,

Khlong Lan National Park Khlong Lan National Park ( Thai อุทยานแห่งชาติคลองลาน) is a national park in Thailand. Description Khlong Lan National Park is situated in the Dawna Mountain Range. This park lies in Khlong Lan and M ...

, and

Mae Wong National Park Mae Wong National Park (Thai alphabet, Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่วงก์) is a List of national parks of Thailand, national park in Thailand. This park lies in Amphoe Mae Wong, Mae Wong and Amphoe Mae Poen, Mae ...

Toponymy

In Thai or Lao ''kamphaeng'' means 'wall' and ''phet'' (from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

''vájra'') means '

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

'. The name means 'wall as hard as diamond'. This wall served as a defensive line to protect the Ayutthaya Kingdom from what is now modern-day Burma. The old name was Khao Kampeng, referring to a 'mountain wall' between the two countries.

Geography

The main river is the Ping, a major tributary of the

Chao Phraya River 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. ...

. River flats make up much of the east of the province, while the west is mountainous and covered with forests. The total forest area is or 23.5 percent of provincial area. One of the provinces best-known products is bananas, especially the '' kluai khai'', a small, round, sweet banana. Banana festivals are held every year to thank the spirits for the harvest.

National parks

There area three national parks make up region 12 (Nakhon Sawan) of Thailand's protected areas. *

, * Khlong Wang Chao National Park, *

Wildlife sanctuary

Khao Sanam Phriang Wildlife Sanctuary Khao may refer to: * Khao, Iran ( fa, خاو), a village in Kurdistan Province, Iran * Khao ( th, เขา, pronounced ), the term for 'mountain' in Central and Southern Thailand; see List of mountains in Thailand * Khao ( th, ข้าว, pronoun ...

History

Kamphaeng Phet was already a royal city in the

Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom ( mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was ...

in the 14th century, then known under its old name ''Chakangrao''. It formed an important part of the defence system of the kingdom, as well as of the later

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the city walls surmounted by

s, since the city name means 'diamond wall' (from the shape of the ramparts of the old city wall). The provincial tree is the

areca nut palm ''Areca catechu'' is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. The palm is believed to have originated in the Philippines, but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in sou ...

(''Acacia catechu''), and the provincial flower the bullet wood (''

Mimusops elengi ''Mimusops elengi'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree found in tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia. English common names include Spanish cherry,Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Ho ...

''). Golden belly barb (''

Hypsibarbus wetmorei ''Hypsibarbus wetmorei'', the golden belly barb, lemon fin barb,lemon barb or Kerai (often spelled as Krai) is a species of cyprinid fish. It is native to the Mae Klong, Mekong, Chao Phraya, Tapi and Pahang rivers in Mainland Southeast Asia. Alt ...

'') is provincial fish, since it is a fish found in the Ping river especially in the area of Kamphaeng Phet.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 11 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 count ...

s''). These are further divided into 78 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 '' khwaen ...

s'') and 823 villages (''

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 ...

s'').

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 25 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Kamphaeng Phet, Pang Makha and Nong Pling 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 m ...

'') status. Further 22 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 64 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, an ...

(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. Human achievement index 2017 by National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), pages 1-40, maps 1-9, retrieved 14 September 2019, ISBN 978-974-9769-33-1

Notable residents

* Saman Sorjaturong: WBC & IBF light flyweight world champion * Kaeo Pongprayoon:

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

silver medalist

Gallery

Banana Festival Kampheang Phet.jpg, Banana Festival Histparkkamphet.png, Map of Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park

References

External links

*
Provincial page from the Tourist Authority of Thailand

Website of province
(Thai) {{Authority control Provinces of Thailand