CHIENG MAI is the capital of the Lao State of the same name and of the provincial division of Siam called Bayap. The town, enclosed by massive but decaying walls, lies on the right bank of the Me Ping, one of the branches of the Me Nam, in a plain 800ft. above sea-level, surrounded by high, wooded mountains. It has streets intersected at right angles and an enceinte within which is the palace of the Chao, or hereditary chief. The east and west banks of the river are connected by two bridges. The American Presbyterian mission, established here in 1867, has done much good educational work. Chieng Mai, which the Burmese have corrupted into Zimme, has long been an impor tant trade centre, resorted to by Chinese, Burmese, Shan and Siamese merchants. It is the centre of the teak trade of Siam, in which many Burmese and several Chinese and European firms are engaged. The total value of the import and export trade of the Bayap division amounts to about £2,500,000 a year. It is the headquarters of the viceroy of the north and though the hereditary chief continues as the nominal ruler, as is also the case in the other Lao States of Nan, Pre, Lampun, Napawn Lampang and Tern, which make up the division, the government is entirely in the hands of Siamese officials. The Government forest department has done good work in the division, and the conservator of forests has his headquarters in Chieng Mai. The headquarters of an army division are also situated here. French and British consuls reside at Chieng Mai, where, in addition to the ordinary law courts, there is an international court having jurisdiction in all cases in which British subjects are parties. The population, about 30,000, consists mainly of Laos, with many Shans, a few Burmese, Chinese and Siamese and some fifty Euro peans. Hill Tribes (Ka) inhabit the neighbouring mountains in large numbers.
Chieng Mai was formerly the capital of a united independent Lao kingdom which became subject to Burma and then to Siam. Later it was broken up into a number of states and has finally become a provincial division of Siam.