Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park
Originally known as the Rai Mae Fah Luang, the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park started first as the office of the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation. Through purchasing and marketing handicrafts, the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation helped preserve the traditional skills and support the livelihoods of ethnic minorities. The Princess Mother then established the Youth Leadership Project and the Rai Mae Fah Luang become a 'home' to hundreds of youths from remote areas with limited access to schooling. The area had lodgings for the ethnic minority youths who came to attend schools and also learn about living in urban areas, among other aspects of modern life in Thailand. These young people were from the immediate vicinity of Doi Tung and neighboring areas such as Payao province. In addition to textbooks or classroom lessons, the late Princess Mother believed in acquiring skills from actual experiences. Students learnt how to live as a community, developing their social skills. Having shared responsibilities, they cared for the younger, learnt about time management, worked in shifts to clean their lodgings, farmed, gardened, and tended vegetable plots. The goal was that this training would help students grow into dedicated, hard-working, ethical leaders of their communities.
Following the establishment of the Doi Tung Development Project, students had access to schools located closer to their village homes, and the role of the Rai Mae Fah Luang as an educational institution for ethnic minority youths came to an end.
Today, the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park is the region's largest collection of art items from the Lanna culture or Tai culture (the minorities in northern Thailand, China's southwestern region or Yunnan, eastern Myanmar or the Shan States, northwestern Vietnam and western Lao). Opened to tourists, the Mae Fah Luang Art & Culture Park features not only artifacts but beautiful Lanna architecture such as the "Haw Kham" (Golden Pavillion), a building the people of Chiang Rai built and presented as a gift to the Princess Mother to celebrate her 84th birthday. Other attractions include Haw Kaew where permanent exhibition on teakwood is featured alongside year-round revolving exhibitions and a botanical collection of indigenous plants from the northern region.
Opening Hours: Tuesday - Sunday. 08.30 - 17.30
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park
313 Moo 7 Baan Pa Ngiew, Tambon Robwiang, Amphoe Muang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai 57000 Thailand
Tel. 053 716 605-7, 053 601 013 Fax. 053 712 429