Wat Phra That Haripunchai 
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Wat Phra That Haripunchai, a place of pilgrimage for the whole of Thailand, stands on the site of the former royal palace which lay outside the city wall, part of which is still visible. It is best viewed from the river end, as was originally intended. Here the visitor is greeted by two great lions, an unmistakable sign of the Burmese influence on the temple's architecture.
On the left, before reaching the actual temple complex, there is a smaller, plainer wiharn containing a reclining Buddha, 15 m (49 ft) long.
The history of the wat dates back to 876 when the Mon king Atityaraj built a mondhop to hold a relic of the Buddha (a hair or a skull fragment). The chedi which took its place was modified and made taller over the centuries but its present height (58 m (190 ft)) and appearance are roughly as they would have been in the 16th c. and fairly typical of the chedis of that period.
On the left, before reaching the actual temple complex, there is a smaller, plainer wiharn containing a reclining Buddha, 15 m (49 ft) long.
The history of the wat dates back to 876 when the Mon king Atityaraj built a mondhop to hold a relic of the Buddha (a hair or a skull fragment). The chedi which took its place was modified and made taller over the centuries but its present height (58 m (190 ft)) and appearance are roughly as they would have been in the 16th c. and fairly typical of the chedis of that period.
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