Culture

Chiang Mai hosts many Thai festivals, including:

Launched Khom Lois

A ceramics shop in Chiang Mai

• Chiang Mai National Museum highlights the history of the region and the Kingdom of Lanna.
• Tribal Museum showcases the history of the local mountain tribes.

• Loi Kratong (known locally as Yi Peng): Held on a full-moon night in November. Every year thousands of people assemble floating banana-leaf containers (krathong) decorated with flowers and candles onto the waterways of the city to worship the Goddess of Water. Lanna-style hot-air lanterns (khom fai) are launched into the air. These are believed to help rid the locals of troubles and are also taken to decorate houses and streets.
• Songkran: Held in mid-April to celebrate the traditional Thai new year. Chiang Mai has become one of the most popular locations to visit for this festival. A variety of religious and fun-related activities (notably the good-natured city-wide water-fight) take place each year, along with parades and a Miss Songkran beauty competition.
• Flower Festival: A three-day festival held during the first weekend in February each year, this event occurs when Chiang Mai's temperate and tropical flowers are in full bloom. The festivities include floral floats, parades, traditional dancing shows, and a beauty contest.

Chiang Mai has several universities, including Chiang Mai University, Rajabhat Chiang Mai University, Rajamangala University of Technology, Payap University, and Maejo University — as well as numerous technical and teacher colleges. Chiang Mai University was the first government university established outside of Bangkok.

Chiang Mai is a regional centre for a number of activities, including:

• Hill-tribe tourism and trekking: A large number of tour companies offer organised treks among the local hills and forests on foot and on elephant back. Most also involve visits to the various local hill tribes. These include representatives from the Akha, Hmong, Karen, and Lisu tribes.
• Elephant Nature Park: Approximately 60 km (37 mi) north of the city or about one hour drive, the Elephant Nature Park is home to approximately 30 rescued elephants. You can visit the park with options ranging from a day trip to volunteering.
• Other outdoor activities: The varied local terrain offers opportunities for mountain biking, elephant riding, bamboo rafting, and kayaking. The area has several golf courses. The nearby national park that includes Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, features many hiking trails.
• Shopping: Chiang Mai has a large and famous nightly bazaar for arts, handicrafts, and counterfeit products of all descriptions, and a number of large, well-appointed modern shopping centres.
• Thai massage: The back streets and main thoroughfares of Chiang Mai have a variety of massage parlours which offer anything from quick, simple, face and foot massages, to month-long courses in the art of Thai massage.
• Local museums: These include the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre, the Hill Tribe Museum, and the Chiang Mai National Museum.
• Thai cookery: A number of Thai cooking schools have their home in Chiang Mai (see also Thai food)
• Chiangmai witnessed its first gay march on Saturday, Jan 27, 2008 as some 160 gay activists and NGO workers descended on the northern Thai city for the third ILGA-Asia conference. Conference attendees as well as members of the local LGBT community marched from the Buddhist Centre (Puttastan) through the busy Chang Klan Road's Night Market to Pantip Plaza as thousands of tourists and locals looked on.