Overview
Wat Rong Khun is a contemporary Buddhist temple complex outside Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, widely known as the White Temple. The Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat began it in 1997 on the site of a decayed local temple, funding the work himself and treating the whole complex as a single evolving artwork. A final ensemble of about nine buildings is planned, and construction continues today.
Description
The buildings are brilliant white — a colour the artist associates with the Buddha’s purity — and their surfaces are inlaid with mirrored glass. The approach crosses a bridge over a field of sculpted reaching hands, staged as the passage from desire toward enlightenment. The murals of the ordination hall are known for mixing traditional Buddhist iconography with modern and pop-culture imagery.
History and legacy
The temple was damaged by the 2014 Chiang Rai earthquake but was repaired and reopened to the public. It has become one of Thailand’s most visited modern landmarks.