Historic Chedi: South of the Old City

Part of Ancient Chiang Mai

The densely populated suburbs south and east of the Old City walls, but within the earthen ramparts of Kamphaeng Din, date back in their present form to the reestablishment of Chiang Mai by Chao Kavila in the decade and a half after 1797. There are at least seven historic chedi in this area, scattered between Thanon Wua Lai in the west and Thanon Rakaeng in the east. The most important stand beside Thanon Suriyawong, the main road leading south from Chiang Mai Gate to Pratu Khua Kom (ประตู ขัว ก้อม), the former 'Small Bridge Gate' that once pierced the earthen ramparts where the Klong Mae Kha runs south by Wiang Ping Road. All traces of the gate have long since disappeared, and only the name remains.

Many of the people settled in this area by Kavila were brought from distant settlements or muang by force and relocated in the districts that are now Nantaram and Hai Ya as part of his policy of repopulating Chiang Mai. These peoples - mainly Burman around Jaeng Katam, Khoen from Kengtung along Thanon Suriyawong and near Wat Nantaram, and Tai Lu from Sipsongpanna in Hai Ya, to the west of Thanon Thiphanet - were established in small village communities around their own temples. This village-like atmosphere persists in much of Hai Ya and Nantaram today, and adds considerably to the charm of the area.

Wat Chiang Khong วัด เชียง ของ

David Henley / CPA

Sukhothai-style chedi of former Wat That Klang.

On the south side of Thanon Rat Chiang Saen, almost opposite Chiang Mai Gate, stands an abandoned chedi which is completely surrounded by shops and dwellings on three sides, with only the north-facing side clearly exposed to view. Until a few years ago the ramshackle building to the east side of the chedi functioned incongruously as a hole-in-the-wall bar serving lao khao and other Thai liquors, though today it is run by an old lady as a shop selling snacks.

Unusually, nobody in the area, including the shop owner, was sure of the name of the chedi or of the former temple that once stood here, dubbing it 'Wat Pratu Chiang Mai', the 'Temple of Chiang Mai Gate'. A more likely designation can be found in Wyatt and Wichienkeeo's translation of the Chiang Mai Chronicle, which indicates a Wat Chiang Khong at this location on the map, though it is not mentioned in the text. If correct, this would suggest the area was originally settled by people brought from Chiang Khong.

The chedi is composed of brick and crumbling stucco. The square base is surmounted by an octagonal section, which is in turn surmounted by a small, rounded spire rising to a battered plee or finial. The octagonal section is ornamented in stucco, with three small niches on each of the longer sides (at the cardinal points) and one niche on each of the remaining corner angles.

Wat Bang Muang วัด ปาง ม่วง

Still more obscure than chedi Wat Pratu Chiang Mai, completely concealed by shop fronts and hidden away in a narrow yard immediately north of the junction between Thanon Wua Lai and Wua Lai Soi 1, is a forgotten chedi now built into the side of a silversmith's shop at Wua Lai 29/1. The only access is via a grey metal gate between this shop and another silversmiths' establishment immediately to the north. Permission to visit should be sought from the owner of the latter, Bunyeun Chaliao, a frail and kindly old man who assiduously maintains the chedi and burns incense there every morning. There is no Fine Arts Department plaque naming the former temple, but Khun Bunyeun has no hesitation in identifying it as Wat Bang Muang.

The chedi is so closely hemmed in by shop houses that it is all but impossible to photograph. A well-tended spirit house stands in front of a large, arched brick niche which has apparently been inexpertly excavated in times past by people in search of hidden images or treasure.

Wat Saen Sao วัด แสน เศร้า

On the east side of Thanon Suriyawong, just south of Suriyawong Soi 1, stands a solitary chedi which is all that remains of an abandoned temple identified by locals as Wat Saen Sao. There is no plaque to provide information about this former wat, which remains all but forgotten.

The chedi is in good condition and well maintained.

Wat That Klang วัด ธาตุ กลาง

About 250 metres south of chedi Saen Sao, and on the same, eastern side of Thanon Suriyawong, just beyond Suriyawong Soi 2, stands the unusual chedi of the former Wat That Klang. A Fine Arts Department plaque notes that this is the only surviving Sukhothai-style stupa in the Chiang Mai area, adding that it is constructed in the 'Phum Khao Bin' or lotus bud style. The notice continues: 'the double-rabbeted relic chamber is situated on a lotus base and features a bell-shaped structure with a spire. It is the only remaining chedi dating from after the 16th century that reflects the religion, art and architecture of Sukhothai in the Lan Na area'.

The chedi is in relatively good condition and still venerated, with worshippers burning incense and offering flowers at the time we visited.

Wat Yang Kuang วัด ยาง กวง

Also on Suriyawong, about 200 metres south of Wat Taat Klang but on the west side of the road, stands the impressive chedi of Wat Yang Kuang. According to an inscription placed by the Fine Arts Department at the site, this temple was formerly known as Wat Nang Rua, under which name it is mentioned in the Nirat Haripunchai (1517). Later it was apparently abandoned as a result of the destructive 18th century wars with Burma, leading to the abandonment of the city of Chiang Mai between 1775 and 1797 on the instruction of Chao Kawila.

When Kawila ordered the repopulation of Chiang Mai in 1797, following his policy of 'putting vegetables in baskets and putting people in muang', he transported the Tai Khoen people from the neighbourhood of Wat Yang Kuang in Chiang Tung (Kengtung in the eastern part of Shan State) to Chiang Mai, settling them south of the Old City, in the newly populated area between the Old City walls and the earthen ramparts of Kamphaeng Din.

David Henley / CPA

Chedi of former Wat Lao Siang.

Wat Yang Kuang (Vat Yanggong) in Chiang Tung is mentioned in both the Padaeng Chronicle and the Jengtung State Chronicle as an important monastery, whose monks followed the teachings of the 'Garden Sect' and were in dispute with the followers of the 'Forest Sect' at Chiang Tung's Wat Padaeng. The Padaeng Chronicle also records the construction of a great chedi at Vat Yanggong in sakkaraja 944 (c.1582). This may just have been the model for the imposing chedi that survives in Chiang Mai today.

Following the custom of the time, the resettled Tai Khoen centred their new community on the former Wat Nang Rua, which they gave the new name Wat Yang Kuang in honour of their former temple and place of origin. The Tai Khoen renovated the monastery and discovered a large bronze Buddha head in several parts which they named Phra Saen Sanang, or 'Buddha of One Hundred Thousand Pins', because of the numerous pins or rivets which had been used to fasten the image together. The image is also known as Phra San Sae.

According to the inscription of the Fine Arts Department, the temple was abandoned at the end of World War II, though no reason for this is given. The inscription further notes that during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910), the noted historian Prince Damrong took the Phra Saen Sanang image to Bangkok to be exhibited at the National Museum. It was returned to Chiang Mai in 1971 and placed on exhibition at the Chiang Mai National Museum, where it remains today.

The massive, octagonal stepped brick chedi is in relatively good condition. Nearby a large gilt stucco Buddha figure in a small sala and a well-tended spirit house indicate the site is still venerated.

Wat Lao Siang วัด ลาว เสียง

Hidden away on Rat Chiang Saen Soi 2, about 200 metres east of chedi Taat Klang, is a small stupa that marks the site of yet another abandoned and forgotten wat. Once again, there is no Fine Arts Department plaque to provide information, but local people identify the former temple as Wat Lao Siang.

The brick chedi is set on a redented base and is in good condition. There is a small sapling of a Bo tree growing from the top.

Wat Sang Ka วัด สัง กา

Finally, in the grounds of the Chiang Mai College of Drama and Arts, just off Suriyawong Soi 5, are the carefully maintained relics of Wat Sang Ka, also known as Wat Sang Ka Ram. The temple, thought to have been founded in the 14th or 15th century, was excavated and restored by the Fine Arts Department in 1983-85. Artefacts found during the excavation include ceramics from kilns at San Kamphaeng, Vien Ka Long and Sri Satchanalai. A bronze Chiang Saen Buddha image and Haripunchai Buddha tablets were also unearthed, together with fragments of other Buddha images in both Lan Na and Sukhothai styles.

Nothing but the base of the chedi remains, together with the brick foundations of a neighbouring viharn surmounted by the stumps of eight laterite pillars.

Text by Andrew Forbes, images by David Henley. © CPA Media, 2006