Wat Hua Wiang

Wat Hua Wiang, also known as Wat Klang Muang, is a beautiful complex of temples on Singhanat Bamrung Road, in the heart of Mae Hong Son. The complex is next to Muang Mae Hong Son municipal market, just a couple of hundred meters north of Nong Kham Lake. Built in 1863, Wat Hua Wiang was the second temple built in Mae Hong Son, and it is a classic example of wooden architecture in Burmese-Shan style. The word Hua Wiang means "province", so its name can be translated into the "temple of province". In the past, the northern area of the temple was covered with forests and mountains, from where the wooden pillars of the temple’s sermon hall came. At present, all of the area is comprised of houses. On the large temple grounds are a viharn, an ubosot, a chedi and an attractive two-story building, an open pavilion, with a beautiful tower at several levels that is used for many different functions. The viharn is a large, imposing wooden structure in Shan architectural style, which houses a single large sermon hall. Originally, seven buildings were built and expanded separately for different believers. The old seven sermon halls were demolished in 1972. The construction of the current sermon hall was started in January 1973 and was completed in August 1974, with a cost of 996,965.35 baht. The viharn's roof is made of multiple sections, receding in size towards the top. False floors are build between the roof’s sections. The edges of roof are adorned with silver metal fretworks. The large sermon hall houses five Buddha images, including Phra Chao Phala Lakhaeng, the temple's most revered statue. Also known as Phra Mahamuni, the large bronze statue of the Buddha in the Bhumisparsha Mudra posture is 3 meters wide and 3.25 meters high. The holy image was merged in the 1930’s in Mandalay in Burma, and then it was separated in nine parts and brought in a boat along Pai River to Mae Hong Son. The image was assembled at Wat Phra Norn and then housed at Wat Hua Wiang where it became an important and respectable image of Buddha for Mae Hong Son people. In 1983, a new smaller structure was added to the north of the large sermon hall. The room is 4 meters in width and 3.2 meters in length, and it is characterized, as the main structure, with a beautiful Pyatthat, a multi tiered roof adorned with silver metal fretworks and topped with a golden HTI, an umbrella-shaped ornament. Its construction has cost about 200,000 baht. The smaller ubosot, the monks's ordination hall, was built in 1998, replacing a older structure. The brick building has a wooden roof, the edges of which are adorned with golden fretworks. As the viharn, next to ubosot is a smaller structure with a Pyatthat, a Shan style multi tiered roof topped with a golden HTI. The ubosot is usually not open to visitors. Next to ordination hall lies a slender, circular white and gold chedi topped with a golden HTI. The small chedi is guarded by Singha figures.
Admission fee & Opening hours: The temples are open daily from 06:30 until 18:00. Admission is free, although donations are suggested.
Getting there: Located on Singhanat Bamrung Road, the temple is within walking distance for those who are already in the city center, just a couple of hundred meters north of Nong Kham Lake. Alternatively, you can use a tuk-tuk or motorbike taxi for between 20 and 40 baht.Read More