Chedi Kiew
historic site in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand
Chedi Kiew (Northern Thai: ᩮᨧᨯᩦ᩠ᨿᨠᩥ᩠᩵ᩅ; Thai: เจดีย์กิ่ว, lit. 'the Narrow Pagoda') or Chedi Khao (Thai: เจดีย์ขาว lit. 'the White Pagoda') is a Buddhist stupa located on the banks of the Ping River, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Legend
A legend made by Sanguan Chotisukrat around 1953-1955 said that during a Burmese siege of Chiang Mai, a diving contest was proposed to decide the city's fate. The Burmese, confident in their superior swimming skills, challenged the people of Chiang Mai to an underwater duel, believing the highland residents lacked proficiency in aquatic activities. The agreement stipulated that if the Chiang Mai representative could remain underwater longer than their Burmese counterpart, the invading forces would withdraw. A local man named Lung Piang volunteered to represent Chiang Mai, despite his limited swimming ability. The contest was held near the present-day site of the White Pagoda. Both participants submerged, and after some time, the Burmese diver resurfaced, seemingly claiming victory. However, Lung Piang did not reappear. When his body was retrieved, it was discovered that Lung Piang had tied himself to an underwater stake, sacrificing his life to secure a symbolic victory for his city. His selfless act of patriotism became a powerful legend for the people of Chiang Mai.
The public source identifies “Chedi Kiew” as historic site in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chedi, Kiew and historic.
Why this record matters
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131443311. Authority coordinates are 18.795, 98.999. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1953 and 1955.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chedi Kiew” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.