Nan province

Nan (Thai: น่าน, pronounced [nâːn]; Northern Thai: ᨶᩣ᩠᩵ᨶ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat), and lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise): Uttaradit, Phrae, and Phayao. To the north and east it borders Sainyabuli of Laos.

Nan was inducted into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for the City of Crafts and Folk Arts in 2025.

Geography

The province is in the remote Nan River valley, surrounded by forested mountains, the Phlueng Range in the western part and the Luang Prabang Range in the east. The highest mountain is the 2,079 meter high Phu Khe in Bo Kluea District, northeast of the city of Nan towards the border with Laos. The total forest area is 7,436 km2 (2,871 sq mi) or 61.3 percent of provincial area.

National parks

There are ten national parks in region 13 (Phrae), of which seven national parks are in Nan province. (Visitors in fiscal year 2024)

Wildlife Sanctuaries

The two wildlife sanctuaries in region 13 (Phrae) are not in Nan province.

Location protected areas

Environmental issues

Nan and government forestry officials are concerned about deforestation after hill tribes turned 1.5 million rai of forest land into cornfields. Nan Governor, Mr Suwat, says officials have attempted to persuade hill tribes to grow perennial plants such as cashew nuts and bamboo in the forest legally. "It's impossible to solve the deforestation problem without involving the hill tribes," he says. "We must give them a solution to live in the forest and protect nature at the same time."

Climate

Nan province has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are quite dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). The monsoon season runs from late April through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

History

For centuries Nan was an independent kingdom but, due to its remoteness, it had few connections to the other kingdoms. The first kingdom around the city Mueang Pua (also known as Woranakorn) was created in the late-13th century. Its rulers, the Phukha dynasty[th], were related to the founders of Vientiane,[citation needed] however it became associated with the Sukhothai Kingdom as it was easier to reach from the south than from the east or west. In the 14th century the capital was moved to its present location at Nan.

In the 15th century, when Sukhothai declined in power, it became vassal of the kingdom of Lannathai. In 1443 King Inthakanthao of Nan Kingdom plotted to capture neighboring Phayao by asking King Tilokaraj to help him fight against Vietnamese troops attacking Nan, even though there was no such threat. King Inthakanthao killed the king of Phayao, however the troops of Tilokaraj then attacked Nan itself, and captured it in 1449.

Between 1560–1785, Nan was colonized by Burma many times. Nan was also an abandoned city without people twice: first from 1704–1706, and later in 1778–1801.

When Lannathai was under Burmese rule, Nan tried to liberate itself many times without success, which finally led to Burmese rule of Nan in 1714. In 1788 the Burmese rulers were finally driven out. Nan had to then accept new rulers from Siam. In 1893 after the Paknam crisis Siam had to give a big part of eastern Nan to French Indochina. In 1899 mueang Nan became part of the circle (Monthon) Tawan Tok Chiang Nuea (northwestern circle). In 1916 the northwestern circle was split and Nan was assigned to the circle Maharat. When the circles were abolished in 1932, the provinces including Nan became top-level subdivisions of Siam.

Before the early-1980s, bandits as well as People's Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) guerrillas were a big problem in the province, usually destroying highway construction overnight. With the help of the army and the more stable political system the province improved significantly, but is still a very rural and remote area.

In August 2024, many provinces in the north experienced flooding. For Nan, it was considered the worst flooding in 100 years.

Demographics

Hill tribes constitute 10.5 percent of the population.[citation needed] Inhabitants known as the T'in or Mal people speak a Northern Mon-Khmer or Khmuic language, T'in, an unknown language when Gérard Diffloth's classifications were widely cited in a 1974 Encyclopædia Britannica article.[citation needed]

Symbols

The provincial seal shows a Usuparatch bull carrying the stupa of Phra That Chae Haeng. The buffalo dates back to a legend that the rulers of Nan and Phrae were brothers, and met at a mountain to decide about the boundary between their lands. The ruler of Nan went there on a buffalo, while the ruler of Phrae went there on a horse.

The provincial tree and provincial flower is the Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata). Hypsibarbus vernayi is the provincial aquatic life, what with they swim upstream to spawns in the water source in the forestland of Bo Kluea district. An unseen natural phenomenon that occurs only once a year during the Buddhist holy days of March.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 15 districts (amphoe). These are further divided into 99 subdistricts (tambons) and 848 villages (mubans).

แบ่งการปกครองแบ่งออกเป็น 15 อำเภอ 99 ตำบล 893 หมู่บ้าน ได้แก่

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Nan Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 19 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Nan has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 18 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 80 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Economy

Economic output

In 2022, Nan province had an economic output of 37.616 billion baht (US$990 billion). This amounts to per capita gross provincial product (GPP) of 86,057 baht (US$2,265). In 2024 the total labourforce was 245,287 of which 241,719 persons were employed in economic activity. In agriculture and fishing 127,993 persons (53.0%) were employed and in the non-agricultural sector 113,726 persons (47.0%).

Agriculture is the province's main economic activity, but tourism in 2016 contributed an estimated 30% to the provincial GDP. The number of hotel rooms in Nan has doubled to 4,000 in 2016. The Tourism Department says arrivals to Nan rose by 19% to 1.76 million in 2015, of which Thais numbered 1.44 million. Tourism revenue rose by 14% to 4.43 billion baht. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects tourist arrivals to Nan will rise by 10% to 1.94 million in 2016 as tourism revenue grows by 10% to 4.88 billion baht. "We want only quality tourists, not a big volume", said a spokesman. In 2018 some 939,240 tourists visited Nan, up 4.4% year-on-year, contributing 2.6 billion baht in tourism income, a gain of 8.3%. Most visitors—97%—are Thais, of whom 62% were repeat visitors. Just 3% were foreign tourists from the US, France, China, Japan, and Laos. In the first eight months of 2019 Nan welcomed 643,129 tourists, up 0.2% year-on-year, generating 1.94 billion baht in income, up 2.1%. According to the Bangkok Post, the top two attractions in Nan province are Doi Samer Dao and Wat Phumin, a temple with many "local art masterpieces".

Human achievement index 2022

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human 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.

Gallery

• Community fishing, Nan River
• Wat Phumin, Nan
• Rte 1256 snaking towards Doi Phu Kha National Park
• Wat Phrathat Bueng Sakat, Pua District
• Phi Pan Nam Range, Na Muen District
• Temple frescoes, Wat Nong Bua, Tha Wang Pha

See also

• Nan Nakhon Airport.

Further reading

• Filbeck, D. (1978). T'in: a historical study. Pacific linguistics, no. 49. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0-85883-172-4
• Goodden, Christian. Hinterlands: Sixteen New Do-It-Yourself Jungle Treks in Thailand's Nan & Mae Hong Son Provinces. Halesworth, England: Jungle Books, 2001. ISBN 0-9527383-3-3
• Scholten, J. J., and Wichai Boonyawat. Detailed Reconnaissance Soil Survey of Nan Province. Kingdom of Thailand, Soil Survey Division, 1972.

External links

• Nan travel guide from Wikivoyage
• 25 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• 6 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine