Haripunchai (Thai: หริภุญไชย) La Pun (Thai: หละปูน)
Motto(s):
พระธาตุเด่น พระรอดขลัง ลำไยดัง กระเทียมดี ประเพณีงาม จามเทวีศรีหริภุญไชย ("Distinct Phra That. Sacred Phra Rod amulet. Famous longan. Good garlic. Beautiful festivals. Chamdevi, the queen of Haripunchai.")
Lamphun is in thePing River valley. It is surrounded by mountain chains, with theThanon Thong Chai Range in the west and theKhun Tan Range in the east of the province. It is some 670 kilometres north ofBangkok and 26 kilometres south ofChiang Mai. The total forest area is 2,588 km2 (999 sq mi) or 57.8 percent of the provincial area.[1] Lamphun is regarded as the smallest province of northern region of Thailand.
Under its old name ofHaripunchai, Lamphun was the northernmost city of theMon kingdom of theDvaravati period,[7] and also the last to fall to the Thai. In the late-12th century it came under siege from theKhmer, but did not fall. However, in 1281 KingMengrai ofLan Na finally seized the city, and made it part of his kingdom. After Burmese expansion in the 16th century, Lamphun was under Burmese rule for two centuries. In the 18th century, with the rise of Thonburi and Bangkok against Burmese rule, local leaders from Lampang agreed to be their allies. Lamphun was finally freed from the Burmese and ruled by relatives of Lampang's leader, gaining vassal status from Bangkok. Eventually, after the administrative reform of Bangkok government in the late-19th century, Lamphun became, as a province, a part of Siam.[8]
Theprovincial seal shows the temple Wat Phra That Haripunchai, which was already the main temple of the city Lamphun duringMon times. The gold-coveredchedi is said to contain a relic ofBuddha.
For national elections the province is divided into three constituencies. Constituency 1 covers the Mueang District except Tambon Makhuea Chae; Constituency 2 the districts Pa Sang, Mae Tha, andTambon Makhuea Chae of Mueang District; and Constituency 3 the districts Ban Hong, Thung Hua Chang, and Li.
As of 26 November 2019 there are:[11] one Lamphun Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 40 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Lamphun has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further there are 39 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 17 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Province Lamphun, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6416 is "average", occupies place 38 in the ranking.
Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using theHuman achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]
^ab"ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)" [Human Achievement Index Databook year 2022 (PDF)]. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) (in Thai). Retrieved12 March 2024, page 67{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ab"ตาราง 5 พื้นที่เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า พ.ศ. 2562" [Table 5 Wildlife Sanctuary Areas in 2019](PDF). Department of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Plant Conservation (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved1 November 2022.
^"Historic Lamphun: Capital of the Mon Kingdom of Haripunchai", in: Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David,Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 4. Chiang Mai, Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN: B006J541LE