Wat Saen Fang (วัดแสนฝาง)

Thai. ‘Temple of a Hundred Thousand Indian Redwood Trees’. Name of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai. This monastery, which lays somewhat hidden from street view, can be entered through the main gate, a back gate and a smaller side gate, which consists of a metal fence and a pathway flanked by a balustrade of nagas (fig.). Besides the main prayer hall, the compound also has several other buildings, including a library, and a Burmese-style chedi, guarded by mythological lions known as chintha (fig.), and adorned with White Elephants, blue dragon staircases, and golden chattra and umbrellas, and a dome with waen fah glass inlay. The temple's main Lan Na-style prayer hall houses several Buddha images, with the principal image depicted sitting in the maravijaya pose (fig.) with a bhumisparsa mudra. The hall previously served as the royal residence of Phra Chao Kawilorot Suriyawong (r. 1856-1870), before becoming the temple's wihaan in 1878 on the orders of his successor, Phra Chao Inthawichayanon (r. 1873-1896). In the back of the compound is a graveyard with smaller stupas containing the ashes of deceased monks, as well as a tall ubosot with a rooftop decorated with Kinnaras. Though this temple was reportedly founded in the 16th century AD, none of the present structures are older than the 19th century AD. See also TRAVEL PICTURES and MAP. 回