Udon Thani

Udon Thani
อุดรธานี
Udon
City Municipality
อุดรธานี

Udon Thani
Udon Thani
Coordinates: 17°25′0″N 102°45′00″E / 17.41667°N 102.75000°E / 17.41667; 102.75000Coordinates: 17°25′0″N 102°45′00″E / 17.41667°N 102.75000°E / 17.41667; 102.75000
Country Thailand
Government
  Type City Municipality
Area
  City Municipality 47 km2 (18 sq mi)
  Metro 1,095 km2 (423 sq mi)
Population (Aug 2012)
  City Municipality 153,329
  Density 3,262/km2 (8,450/sq mi)
  Metro 430,000
  Metro density 393/km2 (1,020/sq mi)
Time zone ICT (UTC+7)
Postcode 41280
Songthaew in Udon Thani

Udon Thani (Thai: อุดรธานี, pronounced [ʔudɔːn tʰaːniː]) is one of the four major cities (Khorat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen) of the Isan region, Thailand, (known as the "big four of Isan"). It is the capital of Udon Thani Province.

Location

Udon's geographical location 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.750°E / 17.417; 102.750 is approximately 560 km from Bangkok. Udon is a major official and commercial center in northern Isan, Thailand, and the gateway to Laos, northern Vietnam, and southern China.[1]

History

The city's economy was boosted by the proximity to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base during the Vietnam War and retains reminders of that time in the form of bars, coffee shops, and hotels.

Udon also became the site of a Voice of America relay station alleged to have been a CIA black site.[2]

Climate

Udon Thani has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are fairly dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is hot with the average daily maximum at 36.3 °C (97.3 °F). The monsoon season runs from late-April through early-October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. The range of reliably recorded temperatures in the city is from 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) to 43.9 °C (111.0 °F).

Climate data for Udon Thani (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 30.0
(86)
32.4
(90.3)
34.9
(94.8)
36.3
(97.3)
34.4
(93.9)
33.2
(91.8)
32.6
(90.7)
32.0
(89.6)
31.9
(89.4)
31.6
(88.9)
30.7
(87.3)
29.1
(84.4)
32.42
(90.37)
Average low °C (°F) 16.5
(61.7)
18.9
(66)
21.9
(71.4)
24.4
(75.9)
24.8
(76.6)
25.0
(77)
24.9
(76.8)
24.6
(76.3)
24.2
(75.6)
22.9
(73.2)
19.7
(67.5)
16.4
(61.5)
22.02
(71.63)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 6.3
(0.248)
16.1
(0.634)
39.3
(1.547)
102.7
(4.043)
199.3
(7.846)
159.6
(6.283)
145.8
(5.74)
184.9
(7.28)
235.0
(9.252)
123.3
(4.854)
20.0
(0.787)
8.7
(0.343)
1,241
(48.857)
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) 1 3 4 8 16 18 18 21 18 8 2 1 118
Average relative humidity (%) 65 63 60 63 74 78 78 81 81 76 69 67 71.3
Source: Thai Meteorological Department (Normal 1981-2010), (Avg. rainy days 1961-1990)

Population and demography

The city alone has 399,535 inhabitants (out of the provinces 1,572,786).

In the mid-1900s, about 46,700 Vietnamese war refugees migrated to Udon Thani. Their descendants still reside in Udon Thani.[3] Today, Udon Thani has the largest Vietnamese community in all of Thailand.

Commerce

Mining

Asia Pacific Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian-Thai Development PLC, owns the concession to the Udon Thani potash mines and plans to develop them. According to press reports, Udon Thani has enough potash to mine two million tonnes per year for 25 years. Potash is one of the main components of fertilizer.

Retail and cinemas

Udon Thani Railway Station

Udon Thani has three Tesco-Lotus stores, two Big C malls, a Makro, and three large shopping malls. The largest shopping mall is CentralPlaza Udon Thani which hosts Udon Thani's largest movie theatre cinema Major Cineplex. CentralPlaza Udon Thani was reopened 27 March 2012 after a massive renovation and expansion. Landmark Plaza has the second largest cineplex in Udon Thani, SF Cinema City. The shopping mall, UD Town, opened in winter 2009. In a park-like setting on an area of 38,000 m² (24 rai), UD Town is Thailand's largest open air shopping center (Chatuchak market in Bangkok may possibly come a close second in size).

Revenue from tourism

Some of the revenue from tourism is related to tourists going to and/or coming from the archaeological site Ban Chiang (forty-seven kilometres from the city).

References

  1. "Udon Thani". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  2. Crispin, Shawn W (2008-01-25). "US and Thailand: Allies in Torture". Asia Times. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  3. Paanchiangwong, Songgot (Sep 2009). "A Note On Interference of Thai Reduplication on Vietnamese Spoken in Udon Thani Province of Thailand" (PDF). Journal of the south-east Asian Linguistics Society 2: 241–245. Retrieved 2014-11-10.

External links

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