Only two decades ago, Chiang Rai was hidden deep in Thailand's northernmost mountains. Today, this sleepy and remote province which few people dared to tread is a different place altogether.

With an increasingly convenient access, Chian Rai has operators offering services to this great city with an ancient heritage.

Undoubtedly, Chian Rai owes its modernization to the massive reforestation efforts of Doi Tung Development Project, which was initiated ti return greenery and moisture to the barren mountains and raise the standard of living of the people in the area. Its future was further secured by the construction of Doi Tung Palace which the late Princess Mother graciously made her residence in Thailand.

The present Chian Rai is a proud city with a thriving present and a promising future beyond anyone's expectations.

Given its strategic location as a gateway to Indochina and China, it has become a terminal for tourists visiting southern China, Myanmar and Laos.

The traditional house on stilts in Tambon Sobtia, in Chomthong district of Chiang Mai, is decorated with exquisite woodcarvings that are symbolic of Lanna architecture. Thanks to the late National Artist Saengda Bunsiddhi this house enjoys the distinction of being the local Lanna Cotton Weaving Conservation Center, which is undoubtedly as well known as any other weaving centers in Thailand.

“Aunt” or “Pa” Saengda was a folk artist who had recognized the value of local cotton fabrics since she was a child, although she started weaving in earnest only when she was 38 years old. After the death of her medical doctor husband, she began growing cotton, spinning and dyeing yarn, and weaving her own fabrics. Setting and example, she later began to convince her neighbors to help preserve this branch of traditional Lanna art.

Saengda dedicated her life to the conservation of weaving, doing extensive research on the subject and enhancing the techniques of waving cotton fabrics until it became a heritage that the people of Chiang Mai could be proud of.

Mention “Sangkhalok”, and the first thing that comes to the mind of most Thais are the antique glazed ceramic ware in display cabinets in museums and rich people's homes rather than functional pottery used in daily life.

In fact Sangkhalok was meant for daily use as well as for export when it was made in great quantities during the Sukhothai Period some 750 years ago.

Sangkhalok was traditionally made in the kilns of Muang Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai districts in Sukhothai province. Imitations with the glaze and designs typical of the Sukhothai Period are still made there today.

Khiri Mat District is another popular center of Sangkhalok production in Sukhothai. Ceramics made here are unglazed and each piece of work is unique because it is hand made and inexpensive.