Wat Phanan Choeng

Why Wat Phanan Choeng is special ?

Wat Phananchoeng is in the southern part of the city near the Pasak river. There is evidence that Phra Chao Phananchoeng, a large sitting Buddha image was built in 1324. The legend of the temple says that King Sai Nam Phung of Ayutthaya built this temple in memorial of his deceased wife, Queen Soi Dok Mak, who passed away in a boat in front of the site of Wat Phanan Choeng. He then established a temple on the spot and named it Wat Phra Chao Phra nang Choeng.

Source: http://www.ayutthaya.travel

What to explore at Wat Phanan Choeng?

The stucco Buddha image is 19 meters tall and had undergone a restoration in 1928 because his face fell off. The restorer was Prof. Corrado Feroci with the Thai name "Prof. Silpa Bhirasi", an Italian artist, the President of the Silpakorn University, and the first person to teach fine arts in Thailand using Western method.

This temple has maintained a special relationship with the Chinese since the Ayutthaya period. It is believed that the Buddha image was partly restored by a famous Chinese eunuch known as Zheng He. To pay respect to the image is to pay respect to Zheng He (Zheng He is a great Chinese traveler who was listed by Times Magazine to be one of the tenth people the world should know about. He was born in 1371 and became a court eunuch.) at the same time.

Ine Chinese community also built a cemetery at the back of the temple and the Chinese ways come here to pray during important occasions.

Wat Phananchoeng has a pretty large compound. A lot of thai people really devoted in Wat Phananchoeng. It is just likes Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar. No admission fee applied so far. If you are a Buddhist, this place is a must see place for your itenary.

Source: http://www.ayutthaya.travel