Kuan Im Chokchai aka the Chinese dragon temple in Chiang Mai is one of the few kid friendly temples
You’ll see what I mean! It’s truly something out of your wild imagination. There’s plenty to see and take in as your child(ren) run through the temple’s attractions again and again.
Before you plan to go here, please read through appropriate temple etiquette in Thailand.
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Walk inside and belly of a dragon at the dragon temple in Chiang Mai!
There is nothing quite like this in Chiang Mai! You can literally walk the entire length of this Chinese dragon, twisting and turning your way along inside of it!
You begin by climbing up and into its open mouth carefully slipping through its enormous teeth! You can have a lot of fun here pretending the kids need to hurry up before it snaps shut!
As you enter you will be amazed by the art work lining the walls of the “stomach” of the dragon. Each image shows a depiction of an element of Buddhist religion. It’s really quite fascinating and well done.
There are no explanations for the images, so you must really use your imagination to piece it all together. At least you won’t be bored as the kids are running around.
Not to worry too much about bothering others as there is hardly anyone ever here! The only other people we’ve seen here over the years have been the caretakers, who by the way do a bang up job!
Exit through the mouth of a tiger!
The dragon wraps around to meet with the end of a tiger which you can also walk through. The painted depictions of Buddhism continue throughout.
Look at those giant teeth! Better get out before he closes his mouth! What will be the quickest way?
Slide down its tongue of course! This was a definite highlight and my children did it again and again. It’s no wonder that the paint hasn’t worn off!
Great place to pose for a photo or a selfie at the dragon temple in Chiang Mai
There were endless opportunities here for selfies, instagram shots and the like, and family photos too. This is a perfect temple for photo ops! It is very well maintained with fresh paint seemingly applied regularly as it’s always in pristine condition and we saw paint buckets around.
Visit the upper temple
Once the kids are tired out from the dragon and tiger, head upstairs to the open air temple. Here you can make a donation to your birthday Buddha – just a few 1 baht coins, or 5 or 10 baht coins will do! You’ll have to guess which one might be yours as the Chinese Buddha statues are unfamiliar to me, but it’s the thought that counts!
Afterwards, grab one of the bamboo sticks and ring those bells! They make such a powerful and soulful vibration when rung one after the other. The little pots are there to donate money to as well. They make for a great excuse to get rid of any small pocket change like satang coins – what are those even for anyways?!
Determine your fortune!
Some temples in Chiang Mai have a fun fortune telling activity called fortune sticks. You pick up the cup of sticks (which have numbers on them), sit with your legs folded under you in a prayer like position, and make a small wish, hope or prayer. Then you gently shake the cup of sticks until one falls out. If a bunch fall at the same time, go for the stick that touched the ground first. This stick is your fortune!
Look at the number on your stick and find the nearby fortune cards. At this temple, the fortunes were only available in Chinese, but maybe you can have it translated! Other temples in Chiang Mai have the fortune cards available in English. Have a look around for this game next time you are at a temple!
How do you get to this Chinese temple (Kuan Im Chokchai)?
Well, it’s really off the beaten path south of the old city in an area called Pa Daet. The best way to get here would be by car, if you’ve got your own and are already familiar with Chiang Mai’s crazy street designs and have a GPS. Otherwise, I would suggest Grab, a tuk tuk, or a songtaew driver!
Hours: 8 am – 6 pm daily
Pet friendly: No
Accessibility: Stroller and wheelchair (although you can’t go inside the dragon)
Price: FREE
Recommended for: all ages!
Location: Google Maps