See the only ordination hall in the world made of silver
Repousse silver, and men only inside
Wat Sri Suphan sits in Wualai, just south of the old city moat. The temple dates from about 1500 and was built as the parish temple of the silverworkers' village, which is still what the surrounding lanes do.
Why it's unique
The ubosot, the ordination hall, is clad entirely in three-dimensional repousse metalwork: zinc alloy and aluminium panels on the exterior, with pure silver reserved for the inner sanctuary. It was worked by hand between 2004 and 2016 by the silversmiths of the neighbourhood, and no other structure of its kind exists anywhere.
What makes it more than a shiny building is that it is a working piece of the craft quarter that made it. The panels are not decoration bought in, they are the trade of the street outside, applied to its own temple.
Before you go
Women may not enter the ubosot. It is an active ordination hall and Lanna custom holds that relics buried beneath it would be affected, so the rule is absolute rather than a preference. It is signed, in English, and still routinely missed. The rest of the grounds are open to everyone and the exterior panels are the better half of the work.
Go at dusk. It is lit after dark and the relief reads far better in raking light than at noon.
Saturday evening is the Wualai walking street, which is the silver market, and the workshops in the lanes behind are open in the afternoons.