Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 prov ...

, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani,

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat o ...

, and

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the sout ...

. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and the Mueang Khon Kaen district. Khon Kaen lies north-northeast of Bangkok.

Geography and demography

Khon Kaen is on the Khorat Plateau, elevation 187 m, and is the center of the mid-northeastern provincial group of Thailand, according to the Thai government. Its coordinates are . The city has a population of 114,459.

Regional importance

Khon Kaen is a city in the northeastern region of Thailand. The city is bisected by Mithraphap Road, also known as the "Friendship Highway", or "Highway 2", the road linking

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

to the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. Highway 230, a modern, multi-lane by-pass enables through-traffic to avoid the city center to the west, and connects to the airport, the new main bus station (BKS3), and to the highway 12 to

Kalasin Kalasin ( th, กาฬสินธุ์) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2015, it has a population of 34,429 It covers the whole ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a loc ...

and

Maha Sarakham Sarakham is the capital city of Maha Sarakham Province in Thailand's northeastern (Isan) region. Sarakham, as it is known to its inhabitants, is in a rice-growing area on the southern Khorat plain, straddling the Chi River. Mahasarakham is 475 ...

in the east, and Udon Thani in the north. The city can be easily navigated by driving along with either of the two north-south main roads: Na Muang and Klang Muang, which are east and parallel to the Friendship Highway. In addition, there are two main east-west roads: Srichan Road and Prachasamosorn Road, leading east to the city of Kalasin, and west to the airport, as well as to other small villages via highway 12.

Smart City initiative

The province of Khon Kaen's 2017 population was 1.8 million with a GDP of 190 billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

. Its Smart City development plan aims to double its GDP per person to 394,000-493,000 baht by 2029 from an average of about 192,000 baht in 2016. Khon Kaen's plan has been incorporated into Thailand's 12th national social and economic plan (2017-2021). The plan has been driven largely by the Khon Kaen Think Tank (KKTT), a group of involved citizens. The Smart City's signature project is the Khon Kaen Transit System Co (KKTS), founded in 2017. Its plans for a 26 km light rail network from Samran to Tha Phra in the Mueang Khon Kaen District are complete and awaiting Thai Cabinet approval before bidding on the project can begin. The light rail system will feature 18 to 21 stations, take two years to complete, and will cost 15 billion baht. The Land Traffic Management Commission (LTMC), a national think tank for transportation policy, has already blessed the plan.

Climate

Khon Kaen's climate is categorized as tropical savanna (

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, nota ...

''Aw''), with winters that are dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, a very hot month, with an average daily maximum of . 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 oscil ...

season runs from May until October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

Culture

Thailand's 2014 EU Film Festival included Khon Kaen, together with

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

and

, as host locations. A selection of six films was shown in the city, including the Spanish film '' The Pelayos'' and the Polish film '' Walesa, Man of Hope''.

Administration

The municipality of Khon Kaen was established on 20 August 1935, with an area of 4 square kilometers. It was later upgraded to a city municipality on 24 September 1995. The administration of the city is now responsible for an area that covers approximately 46 sq. km. and consists of 66,179 households. There are 95 communities divided into 4 zones, each with about 20-30 communities each.

References

External links

*
Tourism Thailand official website
{{Authority control Isan Populated places in Khon Kaen province Cities and towns in Thailand Smart cities