Kamphaeng Phet province

Province in Thailand From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kamphaeng Phet (Thai: กำแพงเพชร, pronounced [kām.pʰɛ̄ːŋ pʰét]) is a province in upper central Thailand. Kamphaeng Phet is known for its natural environment and has a long history. National and historical parks in the province include Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park, Khlong Lan National Park, and Mae Wong National Park.

Country Thailand
Established1916
Quick facts กำแพงเพชร, Country ...
Kamphaeng Phet
กำแพงเพชร
Kamphaeng Phet Province
จังหวัดกำแพงเพชร
From left to right, top to bottom: Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park, Wat Chang Rob, Khlong Lan Waterfall, Wat Phra Bommathat, Wat Thung Sanun Rattanaram, Mae Wong National Park
Flag of Kamphaeng Phet
Official seal of Kamphaeng Phet
Nicknames: 
Chakungrao (Thai: ชากังราว)
Mueang Kluai Khai
(city of lady finger bananas)
Motto: 
กรุพระเครื่อง เมืองคนแกร่ง พระแสงฯ ล้ำค่า ศิลาแลงใหญ่ กล้วยไข่หวาน น้ำมันลานกระบือ เลื่องลือมรดกโลก
("Buddha amulets repository. City of the strong. Precious Phra Saeng swords. Large laterite slabs, Sweet lady finger bananas. Lan Krabue oil. Renowned world heritage.")
Map showing location of Kamphaeng Phet in lower northern Thailand
Location of Kamphaeng Phet in Thailand
Country Thailand
Established1916
CapitalKamphaeng Phet
Subdivisions11 districts
Government
  GovernorChathip Ruchanaseri
  PAO Chief ExecutiveSunthorn Rattanakorn
Area
  Total
8,512 km2 (3,287 sq mi)
  Rank23rd
Population
 (2024)[2]
  Total
Decrease700,862
  Rank38th
  Density82/km2 (210/sq mi)
   Rank58th
Human Achievement Index
  HAI (2022)0.6283 "somewhat low"
Ranked 58th
GDP
  Totalbaht 110 billion
(US$3.8 billion) (2019)
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)
ISO 3166 codeTH-62
Websitekamphaengphet.go.th
kpppao.go.th
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History

Kamphaeng Phet was already a royal city in the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 14th century, then known under its old name Chakangrao. It formed an important part of the defence system of the kingdom, as well as of the later Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Toponymy

In Thai or Lao kamphaeng means 'wall' and phet (from Sanskrit vájra) means 'diamond'. The name means 'wall as hard as diamond'. This wall served as a defensive line to protect the Ayutthaya Kingdom from what is now modern-day Burma. The old name was Khao Kampeng, referring to a 'mountain wall' between the two countries.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the city walls surmounted by diamonds, since the city name means 'diamond wall' (from the shape of the ramparts of the old city wall). The provincial tree is the areca nut palm (Acacia catechu), and the provincial flower the bullet wood (Mimusops elengi). Golden belly barb (Hypsibarbus wetmorei) is provincial fish, since it is a fish found in the Ping river especially in the area of Kamphaeng Phet.[5]

Geography

It borders the provinces of Sukhothai to the north; Phitsanulok to the northeast; Phichit to the east; Nakhon Sawan to the south; and Tak to the west and northwest, covering over 8,512 square kilometres (3,287 sq mi) and is the fourth-largest provinces in central Thailand.
Kamphaeng Phet has the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River flow through is main river of the province, making river flats make up much of the east of the province, while the west is mountainous which is part of Dawna Range and it covered with plentifully forest. The total forest area is 1,997 km2 (771 sq mi) or 23.5 percent of provincial area.[1]

One of the provinces best-known products is bananas, especially the kluai khai, a small, round, sweet banana. Banana festivals are held every year to thank the spirits for the harvest.

National parks

There area three national parks in region 12 (Nakhon Sawan), they are the protected areas in Kamphaeng Phet province.[6] (Visitors in fiscal year 2024)[7]

Mae Wong National Park894 km2 (345 sq mi)   (73,914)
Khlong Wang Chao National Park 747 km2 (288 sq mi)   (53,232)
Khlong Lan National Park300 km2 (120 sq mi) (393,259)

Wildlife sanctuary

Khao Sanam Phriang Wildlife Sanctuary in region 12 (Nakhon Sawan) is in Kamphaeng Phet province.

Khao Sanam Phriang Wildlife Sanctuary  101 km2 (39 sq mi)

Location protected areas

Administrative divisions

Map of 11 districts

Provincial government

The province is divided into 11 districts (amphoes). These are further divided into 78 subdistricts (tambons) and 823 villages (mubans).

  1. Mueang Kamphaeng Phet
  2. Sai Ngam
  3. Khlong Lan
  4. Khanu Woralaksaburi
  5. Khlong Khlung
  6. Phran Kratai
  1. Lan Krabue
  2. Sai Thong Watthana
  3. Pang Sila Thong
  4. Bueng Samakkhi
  5. Kosamphi Nakhon

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are:[8] one Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 25 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Kamphaeng Phet, Pang Makha and Nong Pling have town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 22 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 64 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Human achievement index 2022

Health Education Employment Income
39 70 71 13
Housing Family Transport Participation
30 25 73 35
Province Kamphaeng Phet, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6283 is "somewhat low", occupies place 58 in the ranking.

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]

RankClassification
  1–13"High"
14–29"Somewhat high"
30–45"Average"
46–61"Somewhat low"
62–77"Low"

Notable residents

Kamphaeng Phet was mentioned in crime fiction Sarawat Yai as the backdrop of the whole story. It was adapted into a television drama of the same name twice on Channel 7, in 1994 and 2019. In the versions of both television dramas, Kamphaeng Phet was changed to be called Phra Kamphaeng (พระกำแพง, pronounced [pʰráʔ kām.pʰɛ̄ːŋ]).[9][10]

References

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