Si Satchanalai & Chaliang Historical park: well worth the detour

Si Satchanalai Historical Park

For anyone with even the slightest interest in Thailand's rich history, a visit to Sukhothai Historical Park is a must. After all, there is something magical about a walk or bike ride through the picturesque ruins of the ancient Siamese capital. Unfortunately, this is an opinion shared by anyone with even the slightest interest in Thailand's rich history, which means that during tourist heydays, this historical site, rightly listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, can get uncomfortably crowded. For those who want to take things a little easier, the 45 km² Si Satchanalai Historical Park is an attractive and, above all, a full-fledged initiative.

This Unesco World Heritage Site is located about 70 km north of Sukhothai. A small detour, but well worth the effort. The big difference with the Sukhothai Historical Park is that it is a lot less crowded here and that most of the ruins are located in a much more wooded and therefore shadier area, which makes a visit in the hot dog days a lot more pleasant.

As Sukhothai began to gain importance in the region in the thirteenth century, Si Satchanalai grew into a prominent satellite city of Sukhothai due to its strategic location on the banks of the Yom River. This fledgling kingdom tried to consolidate its power by founding a series of cities, the muang. Officially, the year 1250 is put forward as the foundation date for Si Satchanalai, but in reality this site was inhabited much longer, from shortly before our era. This also applied to the slightly more distant Chaliang, which was officially founded in the eleventh century and which was originally an outpost of the Khmer empire built by Jayavarman II (1181-1220). In reality, Chaliang may have emerged sometime between the sixth and ninth centuries from an important trading hub with close ties to China, where the location was known as Chengliang.

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat – Chalian

Si Satchanalai flourished under the reign of Sukhothai princes. In fact, the city was so important that it became a tradition when the crown prince of Sukhothai ruled the city of Si Satchanalai. However, when the center of power shifted to Ayutthaya, this did not mean the end for the city. Unlike the sidelined Sukhothai, which quickly decayed, Si Satchanalai managed to survive. Its strategic location and undeniable trade potential led both Ayutthaya and the northern principality of Lanna to fight repeatedly for control of the still prosperous Si Satchanalai. It was not until 1767, when the Burmese invasion left a trail of destruction across the country, that the fate of the city on the Yom was sealed by Burmese troops who attacked from Lampang and largely razed the city to the ground. Shortly after the war and the expulsion of the Burmese, the city was rebuilt. However, this did not happen at the original location, but on the territory of present-day Sawankhalok. Si Satchanalai was completely abandoned by the last inhabitants and it was not long before this once beautiful city fell to rubble.

The grand past still radiates to this day on the ruins that dot the historic park. Fortunately, people in Bangkok also realized this and on August 2, 1961 in the Royal gazette published the decision by which the entire site was protected as a monument and placed under the direct management of the Thai Fine Arts Department. Still, it was a long way off before an ambitious renovation and conservation program began in 1976, culminating in the official creation of the Si Satchanalai Historical Park in July 1988. All this hard work was rewarded when Unesco listed this site as a World Heritage site on December 12, 1991.

Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat

The most important temple, in my opinion, is Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, which is strangely located outside the boundaries of the Si Satchanalai Historical Park. This temple is the main attraction of the smaller, adjacent Chaliang Historical Park, which can be visited together with the Si Satchanalai Historical Park with a combo ticket. The Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat predates the Sukhothai era as the foundation stone of what was originally a Buddhist Mahayana temple was laid in 1237 under the reign of the Khmer monarch Jayavarman VII. This temple is dominated by the great prang, which you will find centrally, behind the remains of the colonnade of the wihan or ordination hall. This tower was not originally located here, but a gopura in the Khmer Bayon style, a richly ornamented monumental tower that usually formed the entrance to a Hindu temple. Between 1733 and 1758, during the reign of Borommakot of Ayutthaya, this gopura was demolished and replaced by the current flask-shaped prang, which bears all the stylistic features of similar towers in Ayutthaya. Behind the prang you can not only find a well-preserved mondop with a standing Buddha and the ruins of a stupa in Mon style, but also a number of Sri Lankan-style chedis, whether or not over-restored. When visiting this temple, don't forget the beautifully stylized walking Buddha on the left side of the prang, which was so typical of Sukhothai sculpture and caused a true break in style in Siamese iconography.

Wat Chedi Chet Thaew

Within the Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Wat Chedi Chet Thaew is without a doubt the most important attraction. This large temple, which lies centrally on this site, was built as a necropolis for the local rulers and this is clearly illustrated by a rather colorful collection of 32 chedis around the central lotus-bud chedi in Sri Lankan style. These stupas in various sizes and styles contain the cremated remains of important members of this family. Legend has it that this temple was originally called Wat Katayanimit and was founded by a daughter of King Lithai of Sukhothai. This friend of Ramkhamhaeng the Great was the first Buddhist philosopher to write in Thai.

Surrounded by a thick sandstone wall, Wat Chang Lom is located next to Wat Chedi Chet Thaew and was commissioned by Ramkhamhaeng in 1286. This site takes its name from the statues of 39 elephants that are arranged around the base of the central chedi built on two terraces. A way of presentation that was popular throughout the kingdom, witness similar temples in Sukhothai and Kamphaeng Pet, among others.

Slightly less important is the ruin of Wat Nang Paya which, however, is interesting from a historical point of view. After all, persistent stories assume that this temple complex was built by princess Pasuja Devi, a daughter of the Chinese emperor. Although no concrete evidence has been found during archaeological excavations to support these claims, this is an intriguing story as it confirms the exceptional importance that Si Satchanalai and Chengliang enjoyed in the Middle Kingdom.

Wat Chom Chuen

Personally, I find the Wat Chom Chuen an intriguing place. According to the locals would it be on the site of this from the 14^e century dating temple ruin haunts and that could very well be. After all, during archaeological excavations that were carried out here in the eighties of the last century, it quickly became clear that this temple was built right on top of a cemetery that contains remains from the 3rd century.^e in 4. ^e century of our era. A small museum was built at this site (entrance fee included in the ticket for this part of the Historical Park) where a number of the found skeletons and artifacts are displayed.

Sangkhalok Kilns (Tananyaa Pithi / Shutterstock.com)

About five kilometers northwest of Si Satchanalai are the historic Sangkhalok Kilns, the remains of ancient ceramic kilns in which the famous gray-green celadon pottery was produced from the local clay. It was the trade in this pottery that was largely responsible for the wealth of Si Satchanalai and Chengliang. In a series of archaeological excavations in this area, the remains of at least 300 ovens have been found, but it is believed that hundreds, if not thousands, still lie hidden under the sand. These finds convincingly illustrate the historical importance of this industry in the region. After all, this pottery was one of the most important export products of Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya, which could be found not only in China but throughout Southeast Asia, India, the East coast of Africa and even Western Europe.

For a long time it was assumed that the potters of Si Satchanalai were strongly influenced by their Chinese colleagues from the early Ming period, who brought a slightly brighter green celadon variant to the market. However, recent Thai-Australian research has proven that here much earlier than in China - perhaps from around 9^e century – such pottery was produced. There is a good chance that the Siamese potters influenced their Ming colleagues and not the other way around…