The wooden ho trai, i.e. library, of Wat Chiang Man (fig.), the first temple of Chiang Mai, constructed in 1297 AD, following the foundation of this northern Thai city as the new capital of the Lan Na Kingdom in 1296 AD, is built on stilts in a pond and —like a medieval castle— has a retractable bridge in order to safeguard it from fire, as well as to prevent crawling insects and termites from reaching the scriptures and damaging them.