Country Thailand Time zone THA (UTC+7) Geocode 5405 Population 37,440 (2005) | Seat Den Chai Postal code 54140 Area 265.6 km² Province Phrae Province | |
Den Chai (Thai: เด่นชัย; [dèn tɕʰāj]) is a district (Amphoe) in the southern part of Phrae Province, northern Thailand.
Contents
Map of Den Chai District, Phrae, Thailand
History
In the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Tai people working for the jewel mine at Doi Pok Ka Long robbed Mueang Phrae. The king ordered Phraya Surasak Montri to solve the problems. Phraya Surasak Montri based his camp in Ban Den Thap Chai. When he won, the name of the camp became the village name. Later the village was upgraded to a tambon.
During World War I a field army base was located in Den Chai, but was later merged with the Lampang army base in 1933. Nowadays it is the Cavalryman base 12th, Phraya Chaiyabun camp.
Den Chai was created as a minor district (King Amphoe) of Sung Men district on January 24, 1963. It was upgraded to a full district in 1965. Den Chai became more important when the government built northern railway passing through the area of the district to up north.
Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) Wang Chin, Long, Sung Men of Phrae Province, Mueang Uttaradit, Laplae of Uttaradit Province and Si Satchanalai of Sukhothai Province
Transportation
Den Chai is easily accessed by road and rail travel. National Highways Route 11 and 101 serve Den Chai and there are regular trains to/from Bangkok daily at Den Chai Railway Station.
Administration
The district is subdivided into 5 subdistricts (tambon), which are further subdivided into 52 villages (muban). There are two townships (thesaban tambon) - Den Chai covers parts of tambon Den Chai, Mae Chua and Pong Pa Wai; Mae Chua covers further parts of tambon Mae Chua. There are further 5 Tambon administrative organizations (TAO).