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History |
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Chiang Mai's rich history goes
back hundreds of years. Because of its prime location and fertile
land, the valley that extends from the base of Suthep Mountain
to the Ping River was settled in early times by several different
ethnic groups, including the
hilltribe group known as the Lua
tribe. King Mengrai unified the different towns and villages
into what came to be known as the Lanna Thai Kingdom. In 1296, he fortified the fertile valley area with a rectangular shaped brick wall measuring 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide, and 2.0 kilometers (1.25 miles) long. Parts of the wall are still intact today, and the area within it is often called the "old city". King Mengrai went on to expand his kingdom to both sides of the Ping River and beyond, naming it "Nop Buri Sri Nakorn Ping Chiang Mai". This city became the center of the Lanna Thai Kingdom that later expanded and covered much of Northern Thailand. After that there was sporadic warfare for several generations, and Chiang Mai fell several times to both the Burmese and to a powerful kingdom to the south that was centered around the Choa Phaya Basin. In the end, Chiang Mai was taken by Krung Thon Buri, the capital of Thailand during that time, and under the fifth Rama, became a part of Thailand. Since the time of the Lanna Thai Kingdom, Chiang Mai has been a city for a total of 701 years. |
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Population |
With
a population of 1,547,085 Chiang Mai is one of Thailand's largest
provinces. Of the above number, 170,348 are currently living
in Chiang Mai's city area with the rest distributed throughout
Chiang Mai's 21 districts, 2 sub-districts. 80% of the people
in Chiang Mai are locals by birth, and speak a dialect that
is a slight variation of the central Thai language. The remaining
20% is made up of Thai nationals and foreigners who have moved
to Chiang Mai to work, study, or retire.
 There
are many
hilltribe people living in the mountainous districts
surrounding Chiang Mai such as Omkoi, Mae Jam, Chiang Dao, and
Mae Ai. Statistics reported by the Tribal Research Institute
of Chiang Mai stated that in the year 1992 there were 1,049
hilltribe villages in the Chiang Mai province, constituting
a total of 174,195 people. Of this amount, 106,116 were from
the
Karen tribe, 27,392 from the
Lahu (Musur) tribe, 17,198
from the
Hmong (Meo) tribe, 10,873 form the
Lisu tribe, 8,862
from the Lua tribe, 2,609 from the
Akha tribe, 1,145 from the
Mien (yao) tribe, and 485 from the Palong tribe. The hilltribe
people are agricultural; planting fields, raising animals, and
hunting for a living. Since each tribe has its own culture and
language, they blanket the hills of Chiang Mai with an interesting
patchwork quilt of diverse variety.The majority (80%) of the Chiang Mai people earn a living through agriculture and agricultural related professions. The second largest vocation is tourism and its directly and indirectly related jobs. General commerce and industry--mainly in the form of handicrafts, and of processing agricultural products--are the two other major professions in which the Chiang Mai people are involved. |
