Chaiya ไชยา | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wat Phra Boromathat Chaiya | |
 District location inSurat Thani province | |
  Chaiya Location inThailand | |
| Coordinates:9°23′12″N99°12′0″E / 9.38667°N 99.20000°E /9.38667; 99.20000 | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Province | Surat Thani |
| Seat | Talat Chaiya |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,004.63 km2 (387.89 sq mi) |
| Population (2012) | |
• Total | 36,996[1] |
| • Density | 47.52/km2 (123.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Postal code | 84110 |
| Geocode | 8406 |
Chaiya (Thai:ไชยา,pronounced[tɕʰāj.jāː]) is a former capital district (Amphoe mueang) ofSurat Thani province,Southern Thailand. The main town isTalat Chaiya.
Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise):Tha Chang andKapoe ofRanong province;Phato ofChumphon province, andTha Chana in Surat Thani. To the east is theGulf of Thailand, with Cape Sui marking the northern end of theBandon Bay.
The eastern part of the district consists of mostly flat low coastal areas, while to the west are the mountains of thePhuket mountain range, includingKaeng Krung National Park.
Laem Pho Beach in the district is thought to have been aSrivijaya Kingdom seaport in the 7th to 13th centuries. Srivijaya was a Malay city-state that grew to become an influential maritime power in what is nowSoutheast Asia.Tang dynasty (7th–10th centuries) ceramics have been found in the area as well as pottery from India and glassware fromPersia. Similar finds have been made in Ban Thung Tuek,Takua Pa district,Phang Nga province on the other side of theisthmus, 200 km distant, indicating that there may have been an overland route connecting the Gulf of Thailand with theAndaman Seacoast. This route would have enabled traders to avoid piracy in the narrowStrait of Malacca.[2]
The nameChaiya might be derived from its original Malay namecahaya, meaning 'light', 'gleam', or 'glow'. Some scholars identify Chai-ya as coming from Sri-vi-ja-ya.
Wat Phra Borommathat is centered on a reconstructedstupa in Srivijaya-style.[3] The nearby branch of theNational Museum has several relics of that time on display. Two more former stupas nearby are now only brick mounds.Inscription 23, as it was labeled byPrince Damrong in hisCollected Inscriptions of Siam, is now attributed to Wat Hua Wiang in Chaiya. Dated to the year 697 of theMahasakkarat era (i.e., 775 CE), the inscription on aBai Sema shaped stone tells about the King of Srivijaya having erected three stupas at that site and possibly the one at Wat Phra Borom That.
Another important temple near Chaiya is Wat Suan Mohkha Phalaram (also known by the short name Suan Mok, or Wat Than Nam Lai 'Monastery of Flowing Water'), a forest temple. The temple was founded in 1932 by PhraBuddhadasa (1906–1993), a revered Buddhist teacher. In 1959 the temple was relocated to the present 380rai (150 acres; 0.61 km2) site. Thesetemples are believed to have been used to store rice in large quantities, due to the invadingJapanese. These large Buddhist rice temples are rare in the region and only one has been officially labeled as a rice storage temple.[citation needed]
Although, the capital district (Amphoe mueang) of Surat Thani province isBandon district, the local Surat Thani people generally refer to this district as the capital district and refer to Bandon district aslittle China of the province.[citation needed]
Chaiya is on the southern railway line,Chaiya Railway Station is the main railway station of the district.Asian highwayAH2 (Thailand Route 41) also passes the city.
Chaiya district is divided into nine sub-districts (tambons). These are further divided into 54 villages (mubans). There are three sub-district municipalities (thesaban tambons):Talat Chaiya includes most oftambon Talat Chaiya and parts of Lamet;Phumriang the entiretambon Phumriang;Wiang the entiretambon of Wiang. The other six sub-districts each have atambon administrative organization as their local government.
| No. | Name | Thai | Villages | Pop.[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Talat Chaiya | ตลาดไชยา | 5 | 4,818 |
| 2. | Phumriang | พุมเรียง | 5 | 7,647 |
| 3. | Lamet | เลม็ด | 7 | 5,204 |
| 4. | Wiang | เวียง | 5 | 3,730 |
| 5. | Thung | ทุ่ง | 8 | 4,983 |
| 6. | Pa We | ป่าเว | 6 | 5,188 |
| 7. | Takrop | ตะกรบ | 5 | 3,678 |
| 8. | Mo Thai | โมถ่าย | 6 | 4,372 |
| 9. | Pak Mak | ปากหมาก | 7 | 10,283 |
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