Phayao Cultural Exhibition Hall (Ho Watanatham Nithat)

Open Days: Tuesday – Sunday

Opening Hours: 08.30 – 16.30

 

Ho Watanatham Nithat at Wat Si Khom Kham, or the Phayao Cultural Exhibition Hall, is one of the most important cultural learning centers in Phayao Province. Located inside Wat Si Khom Kham Royal Temple in Wiang Subdistrict, Mueang Phayao District, this museum is more than a collection of ancient objects. It is a carefully organized cultural space that tells the story of Phayao from prehistoric times to the rise of the ancient city, the flourishing of Buddhist art, the development of local craftsmanship, political change, folk wisdom, and the relationship between people, water, elephants, fossils, and the landscape of Kwan Phayao.

 

For travelers who visit Wat Si Khom Kham to pay respect to Phra Chao Ton Luang, a visit to the cultural exhibition hall adds depth to the experience. Phayao is often known for its peaceful lake, scenic lakeside road, and Buddhist temples, but this museum reveals that the province has a far deeper historical identity. It was once connected to the ancient polity of Phukamyao, to King Ngam Mueang, to the wider Lanna world, and to important cultural links with Sukhothai and northern Thailand.

 

The exhibition hall belongs to Wat Si Khom Kham. It was initiated by Phra Ubali Khunupamachan, also known as Luang Pu Puang Dhammappanyo, who played a key role in establishing the museum as a place to preserve and present the heritage of Phayao. The hall officially opened on 18 January 1996, with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presiding over the opening ceremony. Since then, the museum has become a meaningful destination for students, researchers, cultural travelers, and local residents who want to understand the roots of Phayao.

 

The value of the museum lies in its ability to organize Phayao’s complex history into a clear visitor route. Phayao is a city with deep cultural layers. It has inscriptions, sandstone Buddha images, ceramics, bronze objects, religious sculpture, political memory, and natural-history remains. Each exhibition section functions like a chapter in a large historical book, allowing visitors to move gradually from water and settlement to religion, craftsmanship, conflict, wisdom, and the natural world.

 

The visit begins with the Kwan Phayao Room, which presents the history of Kwan Phayao, the large freshwater lake that forms the heart of the province. The room begins with legendary and mythic accounts, then continues to the lake before 1939 and after 1941, including the fishing way of life in Phayao. This is an appropriate beginning because water has shaped the city’s settlement, food culture, economy, memory, and sense of place. Kwan Phayao is not only a scenic attraction; it is the life source of the city.

 

The Kwan Phayao exhibition helps visitors understand that Phayao developed in close relationship with water. Fishing tools, local stories, and visual materials reveal how people lived with the lake and adapted their livelihoods to the environment. This section is especially useful for visitors who want to see the lake not merely as a viewpoint but as a cultural landscape that has sustained local communities for generations.

 

After the Kwan Phayao Room, visitors enter the Inscription Courtyard. One of the most striking objects here is Luang Pho Phutthasian, a large sandstone Buddha head dating from around the 20th to 21st Buddhist century. It was discovered at Wat Sop Rong Khui, an abandoned temple associated with local traditions about the oath-taking of King Ngam Mueang, King Mangrai, and King Ramkhamhaeng in 1287. The Buddha head is regarded as one of the finest sandstone works of the early Phayao school of art, showing Sukhothai influence while retaining a distinct local character.

 

The courtyard also displays many sandstone inscriptions dating mainly from the 20th to 22nd Buddhist centuries, or approximately 1357 to 1657 CE. These inscriptions are essential historical evidence because they help identify periods, events, names, religious activities, and social conditions in ancient Phayao. The discovery of 117 inscription stones makes Phayao one of the most significant areas for inscription-based historical study in northern Thailand. For visitors, these stones are not just ancient objects; they are written voices from the past.

 

On the second floor, the Prehistoric Phayao section presents the region before the formation of the historical city. The displays include ancient stone tools such as chipped stone tools, polished stone implements, knives, spearheads, and axes, estimated to be around 2,500 to 7,000 years old. The room is arranged to resemble an ancient settlement atmosphere, helping visitors imagine human life in the area long before written records and organized kingdoms appeared.

 

The Early Phayao room connects the history of Phayao with the rise of the Lanna kingdom. After King Mangrai conquered Hariphunchai and Khelang, he founded Chiang Mai in 1296 as the political center of the Ping River basin. This historical context helps visitors understand how Phayao related to the larger Lanna world. The room also presents a dramatic episode involving King Mangrai, Phra Ruang, and King Ngam Mueang, showing how legend, law, politics, and personal relationships became part of northern Thai historical memory.

 

The Flourishing Period of Phayao is one of the most impressive exhibition rooms, particularly in terms of Buddhist art. It displays important Buddha images and religious objects from the city’s golden age. Five notable Buddha images are presented: Luang Pho Sukho, Phra Chao Khi Ai, a dressed sandstone Buddha image, a bronze Buddha image, and a sandstone Buddha image in Phayao style. Seeing these images together allows visitors to understand the variety of Buddhist art forms and the skill of Phayao craftsmen during the city’s peak.

 

This section also includes sandstone sculptures, votive tablets, bronze objects, and other religious artifacts. These pieces show that Phayao was not only a political town but also an artistic and religious center. The craftsmanship reveals devotion, technical skill, aesthetic taste, and the social importance of Buddhism in ancient Phayao. For anyone interested in Lanna and northern Thai Buddhist art, this room is one of the highlights of the museum.

 

The Phayao Ceramics section presents another important aspect of local craftsmanship. Ceramics have been found in large numbers in Phayao, including plates, bowls, cups, and jars. One of the most interesting objects is the purnaghata jar, a ritual vessel used in front of Buddha images. It is especially admired for its beauty and decorative motifs of Himavanta creatures, which carry symbolic and philosophical meanings. This section shows that ceramics were not merely household objects; they also had religious and symbolic roles.

 

The Later Phayao section displays objects and historical materials from the period after Phayao came under Burmese influence and was incorporated into the Lanna realm around 1558. One of the most fascinating items is the heart and lungs of a principal Buddha image discovered at Wat Luang Ratchasanthan, together with precious objects such as rings, gems, gold flowers, silver flowers, silver sheets, and gold sheets that had been placed inside the Buddha image. These objects reveal the ritual practice of consecrating Buddha images and the deep faith of the people who created them.

 

The Ngiao Rebellion section presents the story of the Ngiao raid on Phayao in 1902. Its most striking object is the shirt of Pu Saen Phio Samoe Chuea, who was involved in the rebellion and wore the shirt when he was executed on 26 November 1902 at Pratu Tha Paen Cemetery in Phayao. This single object gives visitors a direct connection to a tense period in local political history. It shows that history is not only about grand events but also about personal objects carrying memory, conflict, and consequence.

 

The Way of Life and Local Wisdom section presents important individuals of Phayao, including those connected with history, learning, craftsmanship, and local knowledge. This room reminds visitors that the history of a city is created not only by rulers, wars, or monuments, but also by monks, teachers, artisans, community leaders, and ordinary people who contribute knowledge and identity to their homeland.

 

The People and Elephants room explores the role of elephants in Lanna culture, including livelihood, belief, and Buddhist symbolism. The room also displays remarkable fossils, including a four-tusked elephant fossil about 15 million years old, a dinosaur fossil about 130 million years old, and the fossil of two crabs embracing each other, estimated to be around 3,000 years old and known poetically as the “miraculous lovers, an immortal bond of 3,000 years.” This section expands the museum from human history into natural history, showing the deep timescale of life in the region.

 

The final section is the Antique Storage Room, which contains ancient objects not arranged into specific categories. It also enshrines Luang Pho Ong Dam, a bronze Buddha image rich in gold content whose surface appears dark, giving rise to the name “Black Buddha.” This room shows that the museum is also a living repository of cultural memory. Many objects may not be in the main exhibition route, but they remain important evidence for future study and interpretation.

 

The strength of Ho Watanatham Nithat lies not only in the number of artifacts but in the way it connects them. Visitors begin with the lake, move through inscriptions and prehistoric tools, enter the world of early Phayao and Lanna politics, admire Buddhist art, study ceramics, encounter political memory, learn about local wisdom, and finally reach natural-history fossils and stored antiquities. The journey makes Phayao visible as a complete cultural world.

 

The museum is suitable for students, families, cultural travelers, researchers, and anyone who wants to understand Phayao beyond surface-level sightseeing. A meaningful visit should take at least 1 to 2 hours. Visitors should read the explanations carefully and observe details in the Buddha images, inscriptions, ceramics, and artifacts. The museum rewards slow looking and helps transform a visit to Wat Si Khom Kham into a deeper encounter with the history of Phayao.

 

Getting There is convenient because the exhibition hall is located inside Wat Si Khom Kham on Phahonyothin Road, near Kwan Phayao and the city center. Visitors can travel by private car, rental car, local taxi, or city transport. Those staying near the lakeside can easily combine the museum with Wat Si Khom Kham, Kwan Phayao, Wat Tilok Aram, King Ngam Mueang Monument, the lakeside road, and Wat Analayo Thipphayaram in one cultural route.

 

Visitors should dress politely because the museum is located within a temple and contains many Buddhist objects. Walk carefully, avoid touching artifacts unless permitted, keep your voice low, and follow the rules regarding photography. Respectful behavior helps preserve both the objects and the learning atmosphere of the museum. It also shows proper respect for Wat Si Khom Kham, one of the most important temples in Phayao.

 

In summary, Ho Watanatham Nithat at Wat Si Khom Kham is an essential destination for understanding Phayao. It gathers the province’s history, art, archaeology, Buddhist heritage, inscriptions, ceramics, local wisdom, political memory, and natural history in one place. Each room opens a different door into the identity of the city. For travelers who want more than a scenic visit, this museum offers knowledge, reflection, and a stronger appreciation of Phayao’s cultural heritage.

 

 

A: It is located inside Wat Si Khom Kham Royal Temple on Phahonyothin Road, Wiang Subdistrict, Mueang Phayao District, Phayao Province, near Kwan Phayao.

 

A: The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 08.30 to 16.30 and is closed on Monday.

 

A: Admission is 20 baht for Thai adults, 10 baht for children, monks, and novices, and 40 baht for foreign visitors.

 

A: Visitors can see exhibitions on Kwan Phayao, inscriptions, prehistoric Phayao, early Phayao, Buddhist art, Phayao ceramics, the Ngiao Rebellion, local wisdom, elephant culture, fossils, and ancient objects.

 

A: The exhibition hall was initiated by Phra Ubali Khunupamachan, also known as Luang Pu Puang Dhammappanyo.

 

A: It is ideal for students, cultural travelers, researchers, and anyone interested in Phayao history, Lanna art, inscriptions, sandstone Buddha images, ceramics, and local heritage.

 

A: Visitors should allow about 1 to 2 hours to explore the rooms carefully and understand the historical sequence of Phayao.

 

A: Nearby attractions include Wat Si Khom Kham, Kwan Phayao, Wat Tilok Aram, King Ngam Mueang Monument, the lakeside road, and Wat Analayo Thipphayaram.