Mukdahan capital of Mukdahan province

Mukdahan Province

Mukdahan is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Roi Et, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom. To the east it borders the Mekong River, across which lies Savannakhet Province of Laos.-Geography:The province is located in the...

, became Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

's 73d province

Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

 in 1982. Located in the northeastern (Isan

Isan

Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima...

) region of the country, on the banks of the river Mekong

Mekong

The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....

, it was formerly as district of Nakhon Phanom Province

Nakhon Phanom Province

Nakhon Phanom is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Mukdahan, Sakon Nakhon and Bueng Kan. To the north-east it borders Khammouan of Laos.-Geography:...

. The population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of the city was 100,000 in the year 2000.

Etymology

The city was established at the mouth of Muk Creek and named Mukdahan from Kaeo Mukdahan.
Muk มุก noun: Mother-of pearl; nacre.
Kaeo แก้ว noun or adjective: glass other than sheet glass; a glass, a tumbler; gem-like, precious, exquisite.
Da ดา verb intransitive: to advance along a wide front
Han หาร verb intransitive or transitive: to divide; to be divided.

History in Brief

Pre-historic paintings and other archaeological discoveries give witness that the area of Mukdahan used to be the location of ancient communities. The modern history of the city begins late in the Ayutthaya Era

Ayutthaya kingdom

Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...

 (1350-1767). In the years of 1767 to 1770,
Prince Kinnari

Kinnara

In Buddhist mythology and Hindu mythology, a kinnara is a paradigmatic lover, a celestial musician, half-human and half-horse or half-bird...

 , son of
Prince Suriwong , ruler in Ban Luang Phonsim of Savannakhét  (Lao

Lao alphabet

The Lao alphabet, Aksone Lao , is the main script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. It is ultimately of Indic origin, the alphabet includes 27 consonants , 7 consonantal ligatures , 33 vowels , and 4 tone marks...

 ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), established a settlement at the mouth of Muk Creek, across the Mekong

Mekong

The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....

 from Savannakhét. In the reign of King Taksin

Taksin

Taksin ; was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom...

, 1768-1782, Prince Kinnari received appointment as Phraya Chandara Sri Surat with a rank equivalent to viceroy

Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...

 . In 1893, Savannakhét District of Mukdahan was ceded to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge

The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge

Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge

The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong connects Mukdahan Province in Thailand with Savannakhet in Laos. The bridge is 1600 meters long and 12 meters wide, with two traffic lanes....

 across the Mekong to Savannakhet

Savannakhet

Savannakhet or Kaysone Phomvihane is a city in western Laos and the capital of the Savannakhet Province, previously known as Khanthabouli . This is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. The city is birthtown of Kaysone Phomvihane, former president of Laos, and was named after him in...

, Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

 was completed in December 2006.

Ho Kaeo Mukdahan

Ho Kaeo Mukdahan , or Mukdahan Tower, is an observation tower

Observation tower

An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least tall and made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches...

 65.50 metres in height, constructed in 1996 to honor the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Accession to the Throne of HM the king

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...

.

1st Floor—Arts & Culture Museum

2nd Floor—History & Culture of 8 ethnic tribes of Mukdahan

Tai Kha 

Tai Kha Soe 

Tai Kha Lerng 

Isan

Isan

Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima...

 Peoples

Tai Yor 

Tai Saek 

Tai Kula 

Phu Tai

Phu Thai language

Phu Thai , also known as Phuu Thai, is the language of the Phutai people. It is a closely related language to the Tai Dam, and Tai Don, it is less well related to the Isan and the Lao languages.-Speakers:...

 

3rd-5th Floors—Pillar of the tower

6th Floor—360° Observation deck

7th Floor—A silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 Buddha image in the meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

position called Phra Buddhanavamingmongkol , and the Buddha image for each day of the week