Wat Rong Khun

By the end of the 20th century, the original Wat Rong Khun was in a bad state of repair. Funds were not available for renovation. Chalermchai Kositpipat, a local artist from Chiang Rai, decided to completely rebuild the temple and fund the project with his own money. To date, Chalermchai has spent over 40 million THB of his own money on the project. The artist intends for the area adjacent to the temple to be a center of learning and meditation and for people to gain benefit from the Buddhist teachings. Kositpipat considers the temple to be an offering to Lord Buddha and believes the project will give him immortal life. ==Structures and symbolism==

When completed, the white temple compound will have nine buildings, including the existing ubosot, a hall of relics, a meditation hall, an art gallery, and living quarters for monks. ==2014 earthquake==

On 5 May 2014 at 18:08 (local time), the temple was damaged by the earthquake in Mae Lao that struck the province. It was planned to be closed indefinitely. Chalermchai said on 6 May that he would demolish the structures for safety reasons and would not rebuild it. On May 7, after an engineering expert team inspected and affirmed that all buildings in the compound were structurally unharmed by the quake, Chalermchai announced that he would restore the temple to its original state in two years and promised to devote his life to the work. He also announced that the temple area will be open to visitors from 8 May. The gallery building opened shortly thereafter. But for some buildings, specifically, ubosot itself, visitors are only allowed to take pictures outside. == Visiting ==

The structure is open year-round. Donations are accepted, but are not to exceed THB 10,000, as Chalermchai refuses to be influenced by big donors. Entrance fee is THB 100 (200 THB in 2026) for foreigners and free for Thai citizens. == Photos ==

Image:Wat Rong Khun-pano-1.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-pano-2.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-001.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-002.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-003.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-004.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-005.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-006.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-007.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-008.jpg File:Wat Rong Khun Hell.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-009.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-010.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-011.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun-012.jpg Image:Wat Rong Khun wall painting.jpg Image:White Temple_panorama.jpg ==See also==