Royal Flora Ratchaphruek sits in Mae Hia sub-district and covers an area of 240,000 square meters, divided into different zones you need to spend the whole day here. Perched at the center is an authentic Lanna architecture of Ho Kham Luang Royal Pavilion where a painting exhibition about the life and works King Bhumibol is displayed inside. Visitors should not miss to visit the Orchid Garden to see rare orchids and International Gardens to hop into different styles of gardens curated by different participating countries, such as South Korea, China, Japan and Bhutan, to represent their cultures. Other zones include the World of Insects, Rare Plants and Corporate Zone. Trams are provided and do bring an umbrella as it can be really hot during the day.
History
In 2006 the Royal Thai Government, through the Department of Agriculture, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives organized the International Horticultural Exposition at the Royal Agricultural Research Centre, Chiang Mai, for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty’s Accession to the Throne and His 80th Birthday Anniversary. The exposition was extremely successful. There were a total of more than 3 million visitors including foreigners visited the Exposition.
In 2008, the Cabinet, in order to extend the success of the exposition and to make use of the International Horticultural Exposition area for maximum benefit, has authorized the Highland Research and Development Institute (Public Organization) to manage the area since December 11, 2009 as a learning centre for botanical agriculture and the site for agro-tourism and culture at the international level of Thailand. Subsequently, His Majesty the King has graciously given the name of this area as “The Royal Park Rajapruek” since January 23, 2010.
Within the Royal Pavilion, the exhibitions were held on the floors. The second floor called Hor Kham or Royal Hall had walls covered with murals in gold appliqué over lacquer base, depicting activities of His Majesty the King visiting the people and inspecting his royal projects all over the Kingdom. These paintings displayed His Majesty’s interests and his tirelessly efforts in developing sustainable agriculture, water, soil and forest management and conservation of biodiversity through his royal initiative projects. This great work of art, together with several professional painters, was led by Assoc. Professor Preecha Taothong, the Rattanakosin Premier Artist Award winner and the Gold Medal Award winner for painting in 1979. The center of attraction for the Royal Pavilion, inside Hor Kham or Royal Hall, was the Royal Virtue Tree.
The Royal Virtue Tree, or the “Boromaphothisomphan Tree”, had nine clusters of lotus blossoms on a stand. Each lotus cluster was covered in 2,435 Bodhi leaves. Each Bodhi leaf carried the inscription of the Ten Royal Virtues that His Majesty the King has followed strictly all through his reign. The total of 21,915 leaves in nine clusters represented the number of days that His Majesty has reigned for over 60 years. The four lotus clusters at the bottom were in bronze symbolizing the early period of the King’s reign when he began formalizing his ideas of developing natural and human resources. The other four lotus clusters in the middle were in gold signifying progress of the royal projects initiated by his Majesty that provided benefits to Thai people, especially in agriculture, leading to improved quality of life. The top lotus cluster was in platinum which was considered the most precious metal and the highest purity signifying the 60th year of His Majesty’s reign and bringing Thai nation to the much progress development, reflecting the King’s graciousness and ingenuity that led to several inventions beneficial to the country.
The first floor of the Royal Pavilion held exhibitions honoring His Majesty the King under the theme, “The Development King through Six Decades” displaying His Majesty’s dedication, achievement and royal developmental activities beneficial to the Kingdom and the people. The exhibitions featured a multimedia LCD display, computer touch screen, posters and simulation modeling on the Royal activities.
How to get there:
By car:
- Route 1 – Start from the city in Chiangmai, go along Hua keaw road (Highway number 1004), turn left into Klongchonpratan road (Highway number 121), head towards to Hangdong district and then turn right into Rajapruek road around 2 kms.
- Route 2 – Start from the city in Chiangmai, go along Chiangmai-Hangdong road (Highway number 108) and turn right into Rajapruek road around 4 kms.
By Public transportation in Chiangmai
- Minibus (Two-row seated bus)
- Motor Tricycle (Tuk Tuk)
