Thirteen Thai Cities from Chiang Rai to Hat Yai

Chiang Rai is the northernmost major city in Thailand and was established as a capital by King Mangrai in 1262. It became a vassal of Siam in 1786 and a full Thai province in 1933, and UNESCO now counts it a Design City in its Creative Cities Network.

Lampang is the third largest city in northern Thailand and was a significant city of the Lanna kingdom. Teak logging drove its economy from the late 1800s, a railway arrived in 1916, and horse-drawn carriages earned it the nickname horse carriage city.

Phitsanulok lies on the Nan River about 377 kilometers north of Bangkok. Its chronology, drawn from the Ayutthaya Testimonies, places its founding in 937, and it now serves as a regional center for transport, education and commerce.

Udon Thani is the sixth largest city in Thailand and the capital of its province in Isan. Its municipality holds about 130,500 registered residents, and it is often described as a gateway to Laos, northern Vietnam and southern China.

Khon Kaen sits on the Khorat Plateau about 450 kilometers northeast of Bangkok. It is one of the big four cities of Isan alongside Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon Ratchathani, and its urban area holds about 416,988 people.

Ubon Ratchathani was founded in the late eighteenth century by Thao Kham Phong and was granted provincial status in 1792 under King Rama I. It is internationally known for its Candle Festival, held each July.

Nakhon Pathom is counted among the oldest cities in Thailand and was a major center of the Dvaravati kingdom, whose moated settlement here covers 602 hectares. Its Phra Pathommachedi is described as the tallest Buddhist structure in the world, at about 127 meters.

Rayong lies on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and is the main producer of Thai fish sauce. It has also grown into a chemical and automotive hub, with a Ford assembly plant that opened in 2012, and the Financial Times named it an Asia-Pacific City of the Future in 2017.

Surat Thani sits near the mouth of the Tapi River and is the transit point for travelers to Ko Samui, Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan. King Vajiravudh gave it its present name, meaning city of good people, in 1915, replacing the earlier name Bandon.

Nakhon Si Thammarat historically served as the administrative center of southern Thailand. In the thirteenth century King Sri Thammasok built the Wat Phra Mahathat here and introduced Sinhalese Theravada Buddhism to the region.

Phuket is a port city on Phuket Island that grew as Chinese immigrants arrived and prospered during the tin mining era. In 2015 it became the first city in Southeast Asia designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

Songkhla is a fishing town and harbor at the mouth of Songkhla Lake. It was founded in the early seventeenth century by a Persian, Dato Mogol, and it is the major seaport on the eastern side of the Isthmus of Kra.

Hat Yai began as a small village called Khok Samet Chun and grew into a major hub after the Southern Line railway reached it in 1922. It is now the business center of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area, although neighboring Songkhla holds the provincial capital role.