Shopping

Chiang Mai is without a doubt Thailand’s major centre for quality handicrafts, both traditional and modern, hilltribe handicrafts and antiques. Top buys include:

Cottons & Silks
First-class Chiang Mai cottons and silks are of incomparable quality and suitable for various fashion and furnishing applications. The largest possible selection is available in San
Kamphaeng.

Umbrellas/Parasols
These are inextricably associated with Bo Sang where villagers have been engaged in their manufacture for at least 200 years. All materials, silks, cottons, Sa paper (manufactured from the bark of the mulberry tree) and bamboo are produced or found locally. Visitors to Bo Sang will see literally hundreds of designs and sizes ranging from the miniature to the gigantic.

Silverware
The finest Thai silverware is made in Chiang Mai, where certain families have practised their art for several generations. Traditional skills and a guaranteed content of at least 92.5% pure silver invest bowls, receptacles and decorative items with authentic value. Silver shops are concentrated on Wua Lai Road, where the artisans and their families live.

Lacquerware
Typified by striking black and gold designs, lacquer enhances items made of wood, bamboo, metal, paper and baked clay in the form of receptacles, ornaments and different souvenirs.

Furniture/Woodcarving
Woodcarving is a traditional northern Thai art featured in numerous temples, while in modern times it has been increasingly used to embellish furniture-screens, chairs, tables, beds, indeed anything bearing a wooden surface large enough to be carvedas well as in carved elephants, figurines, tableware and other popular items. Chiang Mai’s Ban Thawai village in Hang Dong district is a major centre of furniture making. Principal woods and materials include teak, rosewood and rattan.

Hilltribe Products
These include silver ornaments, from bracelets, necklaces, and pendants to pipes of intricate design, and richly embroidered items including tunics, jackets, bags, purses, caps, and dress lengths.

Pottery
Chiang Mai is a major centre of Thailand’s pottery industry. Prized items include high-fired celadon which is produced in many forms, including dinner sets, lamp bases and decorative items.



''Infomations and Images courtesy of TourismThailand.Org - The Official Website for Tourism in Thailand''