The day of seeing the wats around the city moats led us to the site of two famous wats, that is, Wat Pra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang. Buddhist temples in Thailand are referred to as wats. These wats are largely found within and outside the walled city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai temples represent the cultural and historical heart of the city; and serve as the main focus of the Thai community. The temples are very much at the heart of the ritual and social life of the Thais.
The moat and the adjacent gate structures are amazing in themselves; the restored Thae Pae gates came into view as we were approaching the moats surrounding the city. And then our first discovery was that the moat has an almost perfect square formation, measuring 18 meters across, with a width of 1800 meters and a length of 2000 meters. This is an amazing feat considering that the square covers such a vast area and it was constructed in the olden days. It was said that Chiang Mai walls and moats were actually oriented to the cardinal points and symbolized the mountains and the seas of the universe; and with all its buildings being positioned based on cosmology, the scientific study of the origin and structure of the universe.
Moat
Our first stop brought us to the classic northern Thai style of Wat Pra Singh, also known as the Monastery of the Lion Buddha. The wat was built out of an alloy of gold and copper and is an important landmark of Chiang Mai for over 700 years. Upon entering the wat, one cannot help but notice the steely glare of the Singhs (meaning lions) guarding the ingress of the wat.
The shrine at wat pra singh
The wat was raised about fifteen steps and we had to leave our shoes on the steps before we could enter the wat. Once we were inside the wat, we saw the huge sitting Buddha statue, with its height almost reaching to the ceiling. And directly above the statue, there were the twelve Thai zodiacs inscribed on the ceiling. These zodiacs are similar to the Chinese zodiacs, with the exception that the naga (water snake) is in place of the dragon and the elephant is in place of the swine.
Thai zodiacs
On a stone slab at the side of the steps was engraved with the history of the wat. Previously known as Wat Lee Chiang, the wat was constructed in the year 1345 by King Phayoo of the Mengrai dynasty as a final resting place for his father, King Kam Fu. During the reign of King Saen Muang Ma in the Lanna Thai kingdom Pra Buddasihing, a famous Buddha image (that is the image of the Pra Singh) was transported from Kampaengpet to Chiang Mai. The Buddha image was originally intended to be presented to the King of Chiang Mai. While the Buddha image was being transported to the palace, the chariot broke down nearby this wat; and this had resulted in the Buddha image being installed at this wat instead. Due to this incident, the name of this wat has since been changed from Wat Lee Chiang to Wat Chiang Pra and subsequently, to the present name of Wat Pra Singh. It was noted that in 1772 A.D., this wat went under a major reconstruction initiated by King Kavila. Besides the image of Pra Singh, this wat houses another important Buddha image called Pra Thongtip. In 1941 A.D., the status of Wat Pra Singh was upgraded to that of a royal wat (first class) under the royal patronage.
Stone slab
We then moved on to see the chedi (also known as stupa), which means pagoda. We were given a quick tour around the temple ground of Chedi Luang. Elephant structures can be seen on the temple. Generally, chedis in Chiang Mai take either the stepped style or the bell style. It was from these two basic forms that later chedis have transformed to other shapes. Chedi Luang takes after the stepped style. It was said that the city celebrates the City Pillar Inthakin Festival at Chedi Luang for seven days and nights during the 7th lunar month to pray for peace, happiness and prosperity for the city and its residents. During the festival, there are parades of Buddha images around the city.
Chedi Luang
This wat was built by King Saen Muang Ma of the Mengrai dynasty, who intended to use the building to house the remains of his father Ku Na. It was said that in the year 1545, the wat was hit by an earthquake which left the structure heavily damaged. After its restoration, the chedi was reduced to 60 meters high compared to its original height of 90 meters. To the left of the wat is a very tall and ancient tree; legend has it that should this tree ever fall, a great misfortune will take place. It was indeed fortunate that this ancient tree still stands today! Interestingly, Chedi Luang was also used as final resting place for the King’s father.
Damaged portion of Chedi Luang
The ancient tree at Chedi Luang
It is seen that the structures in Chiang Mai have been restored to their past glory as close as possible; and have been well-maintained by the present generation. The city of Chiang Mai is indeed a model of how the present day people literally live right next door to the old legacy.
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