Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong
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Doi Chom Thong Phra That Pagoda Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong () (also known as ''Wat Phra That Doi Jom Thong'') is located in Nakhon
Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...
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Amphoe Mueang An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—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 counties. The chief district ...
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Chiang Rai Province Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six Provinces of Thailand, provinces that lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and is Thailand's northernmost province. It is bordered ...
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Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
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History

Doi Chom Thong has undoubtedly been a sacred site for a very long time. The site was surely revered as the home of local spirits before Buddhism arrived in the area. As in many Thai wats, Spirit Houses coexist happily with the newer Buddhist shrines. Elephants are part of the lore of Doi Chom Thong. Paw Kuhn
Mangrai Mangrai (; ; c. 1238–1311) was the 25th king of Ngoenyang (r. 1261–1292) and the first king of Lanna (r. 1292–1311). He established a new city, Chiang Mai, as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom (1296–1558).Wyatt, D. K. Thailand, A Short Hi ...
was said to have been following an elephant that had wandered off when he first came upon Doi Chom Thong, a solitary hill on the banks of the River Kok. There is a ''Chedi'' or golden pagoda of ''
Stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
'' located in the center of the
wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...
. The Chedi is the focal point of the temple. The Chedi was constructed with a mixture of Bhu-kam (ancient Burma) and Lanna style. It is around 14 meters high, the lotus-petal base, the body, the bell, the top part of the Chedi were decorated with a gold foil. According to the ''
Yonok Yonok Nakhon Chaiburi Ratchathani Si Chang Saen (; ) was a Tai semi-legendary kingdom based along the Kok River in the Chiang Rai Basin in northern Thailand, existed from 691 BCE to 638 CE. It was centered in Yonok Nahaphan ( Chiang Saen Distric ...
Chronicle'', the ''That'' or ''Chedi'' originally was built in 940 during the reign of Phraya Ruen Kaew, Prince of Chiang Rai, to house the Lord Buddha's relics. Those relics were originally acquired by Prince Pangkaraj of Yonok Nakpan, who divided them into three parts for the three temples of Wat Phra That Doi Tung, Wat Phra That Chomkitti, and Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong, respectively. Later, in 1260, King
Mangrai Mangrai (; ; c. 1238–1311) was the 25th king of Ngoenyang (r. 1261–1292) and the first king of Lanna (r. 1292–1311). He established a new city, Chiang Mai, as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom (1296–1558).Wyatt, D. K. Thailand, A Short Hi ...
was said to have visited Doi Chom Thong, where he viewed the surrounding area and found it suitable for the establishment of a city. He then ordered the beginning of the construction of the city of Chiang Rai and had Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong restored. In 1992 (B.E. 2535) the
City Pillar Lak mueang (, ) are city pillars found in most cities of Thailand. Usually housed in a shrine (, ) which is also believed to house Chao Pho Lak Mueang (, ), the city spirit deity. It was constructed because the continuation of ancient traditio ...
was moved from Wat Klang Wiang to Doi Chom Thong, where it is known as Sadu Mueang (TH: สะดือเมือง), the Navel or
Omphalos An omphalos is a religious stone artefact. In Ancient Greek, the word () means "navel". Among the Ancient Greeks, it was a widespread belief that Delphi was the center of the world. According to the myths regarding the founding of the Delphic ...
of the city.


Gallery

File:SaDuMuangChiangRai.jpg, Sadu Mueang at Doi Chom Thong, Chiang Rai File:Buddha images in Ubosoth of Wat Phratat Jomthong.jpg, The major buddha image in "Viharn" or the Grand Hall File:SanPhraJao.jpg, San Phra Jao at Chom Thong, Chiang Rai


References

*
David K. Wyatt David Kent Wyatt (September 21, 1937November 14, 2006) was an American historian and author who studied Thailand. He taught at Cornell University from 1969 to 2002, and also served as Chair of the Cornell University Department of History and as t ...
and Aroonrut Wichienkeeo give 1262/1263 CE as the date of the founding of Chiang Rai in their Second Edition of ''The Chiang Mai Chronicle'', Silkworm Books, . {{coord, 19, 54.970, N, 99, 49.365, E, type:landmark_region:TH Phra That Doi Chom Thong