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Ancient Gate And City Wall Of Chiang Mai

Defending Ancient Lanna Kingdom

From the 13th century to the 18th century, Chiang Mai served as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. To defend itself against foreign enemies, the ancient city of Chiang Mai was surrounded by a moat and inner and outer walls. Five gates, including the Tha Pae Gate, Suan Prung Gate, and White Elephant Gate, still exist in Chiang Mai.

The ancient city of Chiang Mai, built in 1296, was the capital of the Lanna Kingdom until the end of the 18th century. When King Mangrai built Chiang Mai, he ordered the construction of a Rectangular City Wall and dug a 18 Meters Wide Moat.

This wall, the inner wall of the ancient city of Chiang Mai, is 1.8 kilometers wide and about 2 kilometers long and is built with red bricks. The design of Parapet and Lookout Holes has improved the defensive performance of the wall. Historically, there was another outer wall made of earth about one kilometer outward from the inner wall, which is now mostly non-existent.

There are five existing gates in the ancient city of Chiang Mai, the most famous of which is Tha Pae Gate, the Eastern Gate. There is also a small square for events outside the Tha Pae Gate, which attracts many tourists taking photographs here because hundreds of Pigeons Are Gathering Around in the square.

The Pigeons Are Quite Busy

Manywhere Tips:
More and more tourists take photos with the pigeons in Tha Pae Gate, so there is even a “professional” service for photographing pigeons. You can throw a handful of grain and then knocking a barrel to scare the pigeons, just to get a great shot of the moment.

The other four gates are: Suan Prung Gate (Southwestern Gate), Chiang Mai Gate (Southeastern Gate), White Elephant Gate (North Gate), and Suan Dok Gate (Western Gate), besides Tha Pae Gate.