Phichit ( th, พิจิตร, , ) 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 outsi ...
(''changwat'') lies in
lower northern Thailand and 330 km due north of Bangkok. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise)
Phitsanulok,
Phetchabun
Phetchabun is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Phetchabun Province. It covers the '' tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Phetchabun District, along the Pa Sak River. As of 2005, it had a population of 23,823. Phetchabun lies nort ...
,
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 ...
, and
Kamphaeng Phet
Kamphaeng Phet is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, former capital of the Kamphaeng Phet Province. It covers the complete ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Mueang Kamphaeng Phet district. As of 2020, it has a population of 28,817.
Hi ...
.
Geography
The
Nan
Nan or NAN may refer to:
Places China
* Nan County, Yiyang, Hunan, China
* Nan Commandery, historical commandery in Hubei, China
Thailand
* Nan Province
** Nan, Thailand, the administrative capital of Nan Province
* Nan River
People Given nam ...
and
Yom
Yom ( he, יום) is a Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word means day in both Modern and Biblical Hebrew.
Overview
Although ''yom'' is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in diff ...
Rivers flow through Phichit province, joining shortly before the
Chao Phraya
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.
Et ...
is formed. The province mainly consists of low fertile river plains, making
rice and
lotus the main crops. The total forest area is just or 0.4 percent of provincial area.
History
The town of Phichit was established in 1058 by Phraya Kotabongthevaraja (พระยาโคตระบอง), and was first part of 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 foun ...
, and later of
Ayutthaya. An old temple in Pho Prathap Chang District is Wat Pho Prathap Chang (วัดโพธิ์ประทับช้าง). It was built by Phra Chao Suea, an Ayutthaya king, in 1701 at a site reputed to be his birthplace. The site is surrounded by double-walls and huge trees, some of which are over 200 years old.
The name of the main city changed several times. At first it was called ''Sa Luang'' ('city of the royal pond'). In Ayutthaya times it was called ''Okhaburi'' ('city in the swamp'), and then finally Phichit ('beautiful city').
Symbols
The
provincial seal shows a pond, which refers to the old name of Phichit, ''Mueang Sa Luang'' ('city of the royal pond'). The
banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...
tree in front refers to Wat Pho Prathap Chang. The temple was built in 1669–1671 by King
Luang Sorasak, who was born in the village of Pho Prathap Chang, between a banyan and a
sacred fig
''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree ...
.
The flag of Phichit shows the circular provincial seal in the middle. It has three green bars and two white horizontal bars, with the middle bar being interrupted by the seal.
The
provincial tree is the
ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in ...
. The provincial flower is the
lotus.
The provincial motto (loosely translated) states as follows:
:The province of
Chalawan the crocodile king, the fun and exciting annual boat race, the land of exquisite rice and the delicious Tha Khoi pomelo; the center of the province is the
Luang Pho Phet.
Health
The main hospital in Phichit is
Phichit Hospital, operated by the
Ministry of Public Health.
Transport
Rail
Phichit main station is
Phichit railway station.
Administrative divisions
The province is divided into 12 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 counti ...
s''). These are further divided into 89 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 '' khwaeng ...
s'') and 852 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 m ...
s'').
Local government
As of 26 November 2019 there are:
one Phichit Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 28 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Phichit, Taphan Hin and Bang Mun Nak 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 mu ...
'') status. There are a further 25 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 73 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.
Notable people
*
Suriyenthrathibodi
Sanphet VIII ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๘) or Suriyenthrathibodi ( th, สุริเยนทราธิบดี) (1661 – 1709) was the King of Ayutthaya from 1703 to 1709 and the second ruler of the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty. S ...
:
29th King of Ayutthaya
*
Sanan Kachornprasart
Sanan Kachornprasart ( th, สนั่น ขจรประศาสน์, , ; born 7 September 1935 – 15 February 2013) was a Thai politician and military officer (Major General). He was deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Abhisit ...
: politician
*
Yodrak Salakjai:
luk thung singer
*
Santi Duangsawang:
luk thung singer
*
Busaba Athisthan:
luk thung singer
*
Chuchart Trairatanapradit: professional snooker player
* Den Junlaphan, also known as
Eagle Kyowa: professional boxer
*
Jirayu Tangsrisuk
Jirayu Tangsrisuk ( th, จิรายุ ตั้งศรีสุข, born September 19, 1993), also known as James Jirayu, is a Thai actor, singer and model. He is known for his roles in the movies and the television dramas such as '' Suph ...
(James): actor, singer, model
References
External links
*
Provincial websiteGolden Jubilee Network province guidecurrently broken-->
{{Authority control
Provinces of Thailand