Thailand opens UNESCO World Heritage exhibition

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, July 27 (TNA) - The Fine Arts Department has officially opened a new permanent exhibition titled "Phra Mahathat of Nakhon Si Thammarat" to celebrate the temple’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Phanombut Chantharochot, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, presided over the opening ceremony at the Nakhon Si Thammarat National Museum. The exhibition marks the inclusion of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan on the World Heritage list.

The exhibition space begins with a 1:50 scale model of the temple grounds to orient visitors, alongside a video presentation detailing the site’s history. The main gallery displays ancient artifacts discovered within the temple compound, including tiles, funerary urns, pottery, and Buddha statues previously embedded in the stupa’s plaster walls. It also features a samut khoi (traditional Thai folding book) depicting the Chulamanee Chedi in Buddhist heaven.

A key highlight is the original six-meter-tall wooden pediment from the temple's main vihara, carving images of Indra on the Erawan elephant and Vishnu on a Garuda, which has been preserved since its restoration in 2022.

Phanombut said the exhibition aims to develop cultural heritage into both an educational resource and a tourism asset to generate sustainable income for the local community.

Following the UNESCO announcement, the atmosphere at the temple remained active, with tourists and Buddhist practitioners arriving to pay respects at the main stupa. Many visitors expressed pride in the temple's World Heritage designation.

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, located in southern Thailand, was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013 before receiving official inscription as a World Heritage site in July 2026.

The temple is centered around its distinctive 78-meter-tall Sri Lankan-style stupa, which is believed to house relics of the Buddha and has served as a major pilgrimage site in the region for centuries. -819 (TNA)