Sing Buri province

The word sing originates from Sanskrit singh meaning 'lion' and buri, from Sanskrit puri meaning buri mueang 'fortified city' or 'town'. Hence the literal translation is 'lion city', sharing the same root as Singapore.

Sing Buri is located on the flat river plain of the Chao Phraya River valley. Eighty percent of the areas are wide flat areas, of which the soil is suitable for agriculture. There are a small number of slopes in swamps of different sizes. The highest average height of the area is 17 metres above sea level. Floods will occur during the rainy season. The total forest area is 0.4 km² (0.15 sq mi) or 0.5 per mille of provincial area.^[6]

Sing Buri province has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification category Aw). Winters are dry and warm. Temperatures rise until May. The monsoon season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. Climate statistics: the maximum temperature is 41.4 °C (106.5 °F) in April and the lowest temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) in December. The highest average temperature is 36.8 °C (98.2 °F) and the minimum average temperature is 20.6 °C (69.1 °F). Annual average rainfall is 1,125 millimetres with mean rainy days is 17.6 in September. Maximum daily rainfall is 203.4 millimetres in October.^[7]

The area of Sing Buri held an important position in early Thai history from the Dvaravati period down to the Ayutthaya period. A survey by Phōngsi Wanasin and Thiwa Supcanya found the ancient settlements of the plain arranged in two rows above the 3.5-metre contour, the eastern running from Chainat through Inburi, Singburi and Phromburi to Lopburi. Three of the four towns of that row, Inburi, Singburi and Phromburi, are in the present province.^[8]: 7 Inscribed silver medallions reading śrī-dvāravatī-īśvara-puṇya are recorded from this province, and from Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Suphan Buri, Lop Buri and Chai Nat. Most are chance finds of unknown provenance, many are in private collections, and forgeries have lately been noticed.^[9]: 402

Ban Khu Mueang, in Huai Chan subdistrict of In Buri, is one of ten Dvaravati sites of the central plain whose glass beads Saritpong Khunsong reports on a compositional analysis. Beads of a Middle Eastern plant-ash soda-lime composition were identified among them.^{[10]: 2535–2536}

According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, the provincial centre, Sing Buri, was founded by the Siamese monarch Anuraja in the early 12th century. He established it as the new capital of the Phraek Si Racha region, superseding Chai Nat as the administrative centre of the polity.^[11]: 43

The city was originally on the banks of the Chaksi River. The first relocation was to the west of the Noi River (south of Sing Sutthara Temple) and later moved to Pak Bang Krathong, Ton Pho subdistrict. In 1869 the districts In Buri, Phrom Buri and Sing Buri were merged. In 1895 the three districts came under control of Krung Kao province ("Old capital"), monthon Krung Kao. In 1896 the city was moved to its final destination in Bang Phutsa subdistrict. In 1917 Mueang district changed its name to Bang Phutsa district.^[12] In 1938 the government changed the name of the capital district to be the same as the name of the province. So Bang Phutsa district uses the name Mueang Sing Buri until today. In 1939 Sing district was renamed Bang Rachan district.^[13]

The provincial seal presents the history of Khai Bang Rachan. When the Burmese attacked Ayutthaya in 1765, 11 leaders with villagers from Bang Rachan fought the army when it stopped north of Ayutthaya. They managed to delay them for five months before they were finally defeated, soon thereafter Ayutthaya fell as well. Annually on 4 February a ceremony is held in remembrance of these local heroes. This story was also made into a movie in Thailand.

• Old seal was created in 1940, shows the fort Khai Bang Rachan.
• New seal was adopted in 2004, shows the eleven leaders who fought the Burmese.

The provincial tree is the Red Sandalwood Tree (Adenanthera pavonina). Pla chon mae la (Mae la snakehead fish) is the native snakehead fish variety that originated in the Lam Mae La, an 18 km (11.2 mi) long branch of the Chao Phraya River that flows through the three districts of Sing Buri. This type of snakehead is an ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes, both savory and sweet. It is the provincial good stuff and souvenir. Therefore, the aquatic life of Sing Buri is the snakehead fish (Channa strita).

Educational institutions from kindergarten to vocational education in Sing Buri province is as follows:^[19]

There were 851 hotel rooms in the province in 2022. About 650,137 people visited that year, of whom 646,177 were Thai, and they contributed 883 million baht (US$25 million) in tourism revenue. Of the visitors, 201,973 were tourists and 448,164 excursionists. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism is clear. In 2021, the decline was 70% compared to 2020. But in 2022 the rebound was 350% compared to 2021.^[25]

Health	Education	Employment	Income
48	8	22	46
Housing	Family	Transport	Participation
51	55	13	11
Province Sing Buri, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6666 is "high", occupies place 9 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]

Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings