Wat Phuak Hong, which translates lyrically as ’Temple of Flying Swans’, is a small but interesting Buddhist temple constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries and located just inside the south side of the moat around the Old City, and just round the corner from Buak Had Park, also worth a visit for its restful grounds.
Wat Phuak Hong’s main point of interest is its unusual brick-built chedi, the subject of a number of differing scholarly interpretations of its design. Mounted on a rectangular base, the layers of the chedi are a series of seven diminishing brick circles with Buddhas in niches, one atop the other. Though the design is not unique, it is visually very pleasing.
Traditionally, Buddhist temples were built with the chedi at their centre, bridging the heavens and the world below and stabilizing the earth. Chedi often contained relics of famous monks or kings as well as valuables, many of which were stolen over the centuries with the chedi damaged during the robbery.
The rest of the temple’s buildings exhibit a true Lanna style of architecture - both in the design and in the traditional gold and red paneling on the gables of the viharn. The viharn’s interior, lavishly decorated with scenes from the Jataka (the Buddha’s previous lives), holds two large gilt-bronze Buddha images and the stepped entry is guarded by two set of lions. Unfortunately the doors are often closed.
Getting There
You can walk there from anywhere in the Old City, or take a songthaew or tuk-tuk.
Need to Know
- What is it? An ancient Buddhist temple with an unusual chedi.
- Opening hours: 06:00-18:00 daily.
- Entrance fee: Free.
- Address: Samlarn Road.
- Where: Off Samlarn Road in the southwest corner of Chiang Mai’s Old City, opposite Soi 7, near the crossroads with Ratchamanka Road.