On our two-day trip to Nan, we managed to get to four historic wats. The early fifteenth-century Wat Phra That Chang Kham was the first Nan wat we visited, and it turned out to be representative of this remote Thai city’s rich historical heritage. Wat Phra That Chang Kham is located in the historic core of Nan, where you will find Nan National Museum (the former palace of the King of Nan) and the nationally famous Wat Phumin. While not quite as unusual or unmissable as Wat Phumin, it is certainly one of the city’s most important monuments, and we spent more time here than we had anticipated.
The first of the wat’s three main ‘sights’ is the vihaan (assembly hall). Flanked by a pair of guardian figures, it features an elaborate portico with slender, white columns and ornately decorated woodwork. However, it is the interior which deserves most of your -attention. Sadly, the original nineteenth-century murals have been whitewashed, though traces of them can be glimpsed through the white paint. More satisfying are the traces of richly ornamental stucco which decorate part of the interior. Equally appealing are the teak columns which are painted in red and black and decorated with golden motifs. However, the real draw-card is the huge seated Buddha in the centre of the vihaan. The Buddha is performing the bhumisparshamudra, or touching the Earth posture. This represents the moment the Buddha attained Enlightenment. There are other Buddha figurines standing on the platform on which the Buddha sits, as well as a curving pair of elephant tusks.
Behind the wat is the oldest and most historically significant part of the complex: the fifteenth-century chedi known as Phra That Chang Kham, or the Elephant Chedi. It gets its name from the fact that a frieze of twenty-four elephants appear to support the golden chedi which rises above it. This style of ‘elephant chedi’ was popular in the Sukhothai period and a few other examples exist, notably at Kamphaeng Phet, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai itself. Though there are some plants growing in the cracks in the lower part of the structure, the golden spire of this chedi is well-maintained, revealing that it is still held sacred by the people of Nan and religious visitors from elsewhere in Thailand. Moreover, a large group of robed monks were visiting the complex at the time of our visit. Not wanting to make any cultural faux pas, we mostly tried to keep out of their way.
The final major sight to see at this wat is a beautiful statue of a Sukhothai-era Walking Buddha which is housed in the former hor trai, or manuscript library, of the wat. Until 1955 it was believed that this was a crude, plaster statue but whilst being moved, the plaster cracked to reveal a solid gold statue beneath. It was common in Thailand during periods of war or invasion for monks to disguise priceless antiquities in this way to make them less attractive to foreign looters. Today the statue is encased by a glass display cabinet, which keeps it safe from art thieves: the graceful, flowing lines of the statue are another reason to spend a little more time at this historic Nan wat.
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