Wat Chedi Liam

Welcome to the southeast corner of modern Chiang Mai, to the site of Wat Chedi Liam. But to truly understand where you are standing, we must erase the current cityscape and travel back to the late thirteenth century. …

Standing before the towering, stepped pyramid of Wat Chedi Liam, the first thing to note is its highly unusual shape. Most stupas in Thailand are bell-shaped, but this is a five-tiered, square-based structure. …

As you look closely at the five tiers of the chedi, you will notice that each level is punctured by a series of arched niches. On each of the four sides, there are three niches per tier, totaling sixty niches across the entire…

By the late nineteenth century, despite surviving the floods, Wat Chedi Liam was in a state of severe disrepair, heavily overgrown with vegetation. Enter Luang Yotharak, widely known as Hmong Pan Yo, an incredibly wealthy Burmese…

Let us examine the base of the chedi more closely to observe a specific, highly personal addition made during the 1908 restoration. While the original design called for sixty standing Buddhas, you will notice that there are four…

Walk to any of the four corners of the chedi's massive square base. Here, you will encounter large, imposing statues of mythical lions facing outward, guarding the cardinal directions. …

Let us step back from the monument and consider the ground we are walking on. For hundreds of years, Wat Chedi Liam was a solitary tower rising from an ordinary landscape of orchards and simple houses. …

As the sun begins to lower, casting long shadows across the ancient bricks of Wat Chedi Liam, it is time to conclude our visit. We have explored a monument that is a true survivor. …