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Ping River

Major tributary of the Chao Phraya River

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated August 5, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Ping River (Thai: แม่น้ำปิง, romanized: Maenam Ping, pronounced [mɛ̂ː.náːm pīŋ]; Northern Thai: ᨶᩣᩴ᩶ᩯᨾ᩵ᨻᩥᨦ᩠ᨣ᩺, pronounced [nâːm mɛ̂ː pīŋ]) along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After passing Chiang Mai, it flows through the provinces of Lamphun, Tak and Kamphaeng Phet. At the confluence with the Nan at Nakhon Sawan (also named Paknam Pho in Thai), it forms the Chao Phraya.

01History

Evidence shows that habitation along the Ping River dates back to 1500 BCE. At that time it controlled trading routes between Yunnan and the Chao Phraya basin. Mangrai, a ruler from Ngoenyang, turned south to create an alternative "silk road" along the Ping River and captured Haripunchai in 1281. Following his successful conquest, he created Wiang Kum Kam as his capital before abandoning it following nearly a decade of floods, finally moving kilometres north to establish Chiang Mai as the capital of the Kingdom of Lanna in 1296.

In the 20th century, the Ping River became a part of Siam. Chinese and foreign investors came to area in search of lucrative teak and business transactions. Missionaries built Chiang Mai’s first church along the eastern bank of the river, an area set aside for foreign residents by the ruling government who occupied the safe, flood-free western banks. Land along the banks, including its islands, were repurposed, such as a small island in the river that was donated to American missionary James W. McKean in 1907 to become a leper colony. With no cure for leprosy until the 1980s, lepers found relief in their sanctuary from social criticism, many of whom remain at the McKean Rehabilitation Centre today.

02Tributaries

03Basin

The Ping basin is one of the largest drainage basins of the Chao Phraya Watershed, draining 33,896 square kilometres (13,087 mi2) of land. The greater Ping basin, the basin of the entire Ping river system including its tributary the Wang River, drains a total of 44,688 square kilometres (17,254 mi2). The main dams in the basin are the Bhumibol Dam and the Doi Tao Dam.

04National parks

The Ping originates in Huai Nam Dang National Park and flows through Mae Ping National Park.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ping River”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

  • Ping River (I).jpg by This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Feel free to use any of my images, but please mention me as the author and may send me a message. (สามารถใช้ภาพได้อิสระ แต่กรุณาใส่เครดิตผู้ถ่ายและอาจส่งข้อความบอกกล่าวด้วย) Please do not upload an updated image here without consultation with the Author. The author would like to make corrections only at his own source. This ensures that the changes are preserved. Please if you think that any changes should be required, please inform the author. Otherwise you can upload a new image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., CC BY 4.0

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