Fang (town)

Fang (ฝาง), officially Wiang Fang Subdistrict Municipality (เทศบาลตำบลเวียงฝาง; wiang means 'walled city' or 'town'), is a town in the northern Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, the capital of Fang District. It is 154 km north of Chiang Mai, among the highest mountains in the country.

History
According to the Yonok chronicle, Mueang Fang was built in 641 by King Lawa Changkarat. Later King Mengrai the Great reigned in Fang before building Wiang Kum Kam and Chiang Mai of the Lanna Kingdom for one year around 1268. It seems that Mengrai used Mueang Fang for the base to invade Hariphunchai.

Etymology
The landscape of Fang looked like the seed of a fang tree (Caesalpinia sappan). The town was named after the tree.

Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) Mu 1, 10 Tambon San Sai, Mu 7 (Ban Mea Jai) Tambon Wiang, Mu 2, 4 Tambon Wiang, and Mu 2 Tambon Wiang.

Administration
The town is subdivided into 12 boroughs ("chumchon"), which include five villages (muban) of the Wiang subdistrict - Mu 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9.

In the local administrative area (Wiang Fang Subdistrict Municipality), there are 5 villages (muban) and 5 communities (formerly 12 communities) as follows:

Villages (Muban)

 * 1) Mu 2
 * 2) Mu 3
 * 3) Mu 4
 * 4) Mu 5
 * 5) Mu 9

Communities

 * 1) Pa Bong Community (covers Mu 2)
 * 2) Nong Ueng Community (covers Mu 3)
 * 3) Suan Dok Community (covers Mu 4)
 * 4) Ton Nun Community (covers Mu 5)
 * 5) San Pa Nai Community (covers Mu 9)

Pre-elementary school

 * 1) Somrith Kindergarten (private)
 * 2) Saiaksorn Kindergarten (private)

Primary School
TessabanWingfang School (public)

Secondary school (Prathom 1 – Matthayom 3)

 * 1) Ban Wiang Fang School (public)
 * 2) Saiaksorn School (private)

High school (Prathom 1–Matthayom 6)
Rangsee Vittaya School (Christian school)

Climate
Fang has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). the wet season is hot, oppressive, and overcast and the dry season is warm and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 13 °C to 35 °C and is rarely below 10 °C or above 37 °C. The hot season lasts for 2.0 months, from March 13 to May 15, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year. A wet day is one with at least 1 millimeter of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Fang varies very significantly throughout the year. The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.0 months, from March 7 to December 8, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 13 millimeters. The month with the most rain in Fang is August, with an average rainfall of 233 millimeters.