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Rang

White temple, blue temple

Chiang Rai

A northern Thai city known for a modern temple in pure white and mirror, and another in deep blue.

Chaloem Phra Kiat Chiang Rai Clock Tower / Buddha Shilpa Clock Tower (Phuttha Sin) / Chiang Rai Clock Tower
Photo: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Chiang Rai is temple white

Chiang Rai, in Thailand's far north, has two modern temples named for their colour. Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, is the work of the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who began rebuilding it in 1997 and expects the project to continue long after his lifetime. Every surface is white plaster set with small pieces of mirror. The artist has said the white stands for the purity of the Buddha. Thai temples are usually red and gold, so the effect is startling. A few kilometres away, Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, was completed in 2016 by one of his students. Its hall is a deep sapphire blue inside and out, trimmed with gold.

Temple white#F5F5F2Mirror silver#C9CCD1Temple blue#1F4FA8Gold#D4AF37

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Chiang Rai

WhiteThe lightest colour, seen in snow, milk and chalk, and opposite to blackBlueA primary colour seen in the sky and sea, used since ancient times in art and dye
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Chiang Rai" on Wikipedia. If you know Chiang Rai and we have it wrong, tell us.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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