Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

Wat Rong Khun, universally known as the White Temple, is a privately owned contemporary Buddhist temple in Pa O Don Chai village, approximately 13 kilometres south of Chiang Rai city. The temple was conceived and is still being designed by Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who began construction in 1997 using his own funds and donations. Kositpipat's stated aim is to construct a Buddhist temple that will outlast the traditional media of his art — he intends it to survive a thousand years. The result is an unprecedented blending of sacred architecture with personal artistic vision. The exterior is entirely sheathed in white plaster studded with millions of mirrored glass mosaic pieces, which cause the surface to glitter intensely in sunlight as if encrusted with diamonds. The white represents the purity of the Buddha; the mirrors represent the wisdom of the Buddha that reflects throughout the universe. Entry to the main temple grounds crosses a bridge above a pit of hands reaching upward — a sculpture representing souls in hell. The ornamentation becomes increasingly surreal inside the grounds: murals in the main wiharn incorporate contemporary pop-culture references including Freddy Krueger, characters from The Matrix, and Thai political imagery alongside traditional Buddhist iconography — Kositpipat uses them to comment on modern temptation and desire. Photography inside the main temple building is not permitted. A separate gold building at the rear serves as a restroom facility and features imagery in deliberate contrast to the main temple. An art gallery and museum building displays Kositpipat's earlier paintings. Admission is 100 baht for foreign adults.