Three Kings Monument, Chiang Mai

Three Kings Monument is a large statue in front of the Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre in the centre of Chiang Mai old Town.

The Three Kings Monument is in a public area which means you can visit at any time and there is no admission fee.

About the Three Kings Monument

The Three Kings Monument was installed in 1984 to commemorate a friendship between 3 kings.

Symbol of Friendship in Thailand

This friendship was perhaps the most important and famous friendship in Thai history, and the historical events in the context of which this friendship was entered into are defining moments in the history of the north of Thailand. The friendship is also of cultural significance because it is symbolic of the coming together of once separate regions of Thailand in an alliance to create the Kingdom of Siam in a part of South East Asia which was frequently invaded by Kings from neighbouring countries and often internally divided with different regions of Thailand at war with each other.

Plan for the New City of Chiang Mai

The Three Kings Monument shows the three kings working together to plan the then new city of Chiang Mai in the 13th Century, and as such is one of older examples of people from different parts of what would become Thailand working together for a common purpose.

The Three Kings

The three kings Three Kings Monument represented in the statue are:

• King Mangrai: King of the Lanna Kingdom from 1292 to 1311. King Mangrai founded Chiang Mai in 1296 as the new capital of the Lanna Kingdom. According to legend, King Mangrai secured a pact between the three kings in 1287 at time when the other kings were feuding after one of kings seduced the other’s wife.
• King Ram Khamhaeng: Ruler of the Sukhothai Kingdom from 1279 to 1298. The Sukhothai Kingdom encompassed large parts of Northern, Central and Southern Thailand and together with the Lanna Kingdom the combined territory represents a significant proportion of what is modern day Thailand. King Ram Khamhaeng is a much celebrated former Thai monarch credited with created the modern Thai alphabet and founding the ceramics industry in Thailand.
• King Ngam Muang: Monarch of the Phayao Kingdom from 1258 to 1296. King Ngam Muang was very much the junior of the three kings as the Phayao Kingdom was smaller and less well resourced than the Sukhothai or Lanna Kingdoms. King Ngam Muang is an important folk hero in Phayao as he halted an invasion attempt by King Mangrai in 1276 by forming an alliance with the Lanna Kingdom, which was a symbolically important act as it demonstrated that the people of Thailand could be better off by joining together rather than fighting.

Location of the Three Kings Monument

• Three Kings Monument is located 4.7 km by road from Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3.