Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ;

Northern Thai Kam Mueang ( nod, , กำเมือง) or Northern Thai language ( th, ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely rela ...

: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six

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''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai,

Lampang Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for L ...

, and Tak.

Geography

Lamphun is in the Ping River valley. It is surrounded by mountain chains, with the Thanon Thong Chai Range in the west and the Khun Tan Range in the east of the province. It is some 670 kilometres from

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 ...

and 26 kilometres from Chiang Mai. The total forest area is or 57.8 percent of provincial area. Lamphun is regarded as the smallest province of northern region of Thailand.

National parks

There are a total of three national parks, two ofwhich are in region 16 (Chiang Mai) and Doi Chong in region 13 (Lampang branch) of Thailand's protected areas. *

Mae Ping National Park Mae Ping National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่ปิง) is at the southern end of the Thanon Thong Chai Range, in Lamphun, Tak, and Chiang Mai Provinces in northern Thailand. Established on 13-07-1981, it is an IUC ...

, * Mae Takrai National Park, * Doi Chong National Park,

Wildlife sanctuaries

There area two wildlife sanctuaries in region 16 (Chiang Mai) of Thailand's protected areas. * Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary, * Doi Phu Muang Wildlife Sanctuary,

History

Under its old name of Haripunchai, Lamphun was the northernmost city of the Mon kingdom of 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 cent ...

period, and also the last to fall to the Thai. In the late-12th century it came under siege from the Khmer, but did not fall. However, in 1281 King Mengrai of Lan Na finally seized the city, and made it part of his kingdom. After Burmese expansion in the 16th century, Lamphun was under Burmese rule for two centuries. In the 18th century, with the rise of Thonburi and Bangkok against Burmese rule, local leaders from Lampang agreed to be their allies. Lamphun was finally freed from the Burmese and ruled by relatives of Lampang's leader, gaining vassal status from Bangkok. Eventually, after the administrative reform of Bangkok government in the late-19th century, Lamphun became part, as a province, of Siam.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the temple Wat Phra That Haripunchai, which was already the main temple of the city Lamphun during Mon times. The gold-covered chedi is said to contain a relic of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

. The provincial flower is the Flame of the Forest (''Butea monosperma''), and the provincial tree is the

Rain Tree Rain tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Albizia saman'', a tree in the family Fabaceae, native to a range extending from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil *''Brunfelsia'' a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Sola ...

(''Samanea saman'').

Transport

* Air: Lamphun is served by Lamphun Airport. * Rail: Lamphun's main station is Lamphun Railway Station.

Foods

* Kaeng khae, a spicy curry consisting mainly of vegetables with chicken, frog, fish or snails. *Kuaitiao lamyai, stewed pork noodles soup with dried longan, originated in Lamphun.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into eight districts ('' amphoes''). These are further divided into 51 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 551 villages ('' mubans''). For national elections the province is divided into three constituencies. Constituency 1 covers the Mueang District except Tambon Makhuea Chae; Constituency 2 the districts Pa Sang, Mae Tha, and ''Tambon'' Makhuea Chae of Mueang District; and Constituency 3 the districts Ban Hong, Thung Hua Chang, and Li.

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Lamphun Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 40 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Lamphun has 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 39 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 17 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 (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.

Gallery

File:LamhunWPTHaripch200107c.jpg, The

-style chedi of Wat Phra That Hariphunchai File:LamhunWPTHaripch200107b.jpg, The viharn and golden chedi of Wat Phra That Hariphunchai

References

External links

*
Provincial websiteLamphun province, Tourism Authority of Thailand
{{Coord, 18, 34, 45, N, 99, 0, 23, E, type:adm1st_region:TH, display=title Provinces of Thailand