PCMai

Getting to know Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai owes her existence to the Ping River. The river provided the route along which the power of the city could
be extended beyond the wall of mountains that surrounded the valley; it was a channel for trade from China and
Burma to the Gulf of Siam. The wide, fertile valley was able to support a large number of
people, the basis of political power in the feudal kingdom of Lanna (the million fields).

Protected by the moats, the old city is filled with monuments that mark the course of change in the city's seven
hundred year history. Generations have trod the narrow lanes that link the quiet neighborhoods to the temples and
the markets. Along the main streets, trade has been the lifeblood of the city; but it is the spiritual and artistic
striving focused at the temples that have given beat to city's enduring heart.