Udon Thani province

Udon Thani province(Thai/Northeastern Thai:อุดรธานี,Thai pronunciation:[ʔù.dɔ̄ːntʰāː.nīː],Lao pronunciation:[ʔú.dɔ̀ːntʰáː.níː]) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat) which lies inupper northeastern Thailand, also calledIsan. It is bordered by the provinces ofNong Khaito the north,Sakon Nakhonto the east,Kalasin provinceto the southeast,Khon Kaento the south, andLoeiandNong Bua Lamphuto the west. It occupies an area of 11,072 km(4,275 sq mi). The total forest area is 1,131 km(437 sq mi) or 10.2 percent of provincial area.The provincial capital isUdon Thani, the major city in the province.
Udon Thani is said to mean 'northern city'.Udonis derived fromutarainSanskrit, meaning 'northern direction', as Udon Thani is northeast ofBangkok.Thanimeans 'city'.
Udon Thani first came to historical notice in theRattanakosin era, whenAnuwongofVientianestaged a rebellion against Thai rule and marched his army to Nakhon Ratchasima in 1826. He captured the city by a ruse, but the garrison he left to hold it unexpectedly met with fierce resistance from the disarmed local forces led byLady Mo, the wife of Nakhon Ratchasima's governor. Anuwong advanced as far asSaraburi, but was forced to retreat. The Thai army pursued him, and the rival forces met in battle atNong Bua Lamphu, a small city near today's Udon Thani. After two days of fierce fighting, Anuwong's army was defeated and fled back toLaos.
Once known as Ban Mak-kaeng, Udon Thani was originally settled as a military base established by Prince Prachaksinlapakhom to suppress an uprising in the northeastern city ofLao Puan. Ban Mak-kaeng grew slowly from a small rural town to become what is now the city of Udon Thani. He founded Udon Thani town in 1893, established the civil administration and served important official duties for the region.
The province is best known for the prehistoric archaeological site atBan Chiangand itsBronze Agerelics, in a hamlet about 50 kilometers (31 mi) east of Udon Thani. Udon Thani is one of the more bustling markets for agricultural goods in the relatively dry northeast of Thailand.
Udon Thani received its biggest economic boost in the 1960s when the United States built theUdorn Royal Thai Air Force Baseas a joint-force military base during theVietnam War. The Mel Gibson filmAir Americadepicts Udon and includes scenes of Udon's air base. Udon Thani was also the largest base in the region for the CIA'santi-communismcampaign in Thailand and Laos.The United States turned the base over to the Royal Thai Air Force in 1976, but its presence left three residual effects on Udon. First, a large number of locals had been paid comparatively well and had learned basic conversational English. This made them more marketable to the outside world, and a significant number went to work in Middle East oilfields. Second, the base created long-standing ties with theUnited States, including a US consulate in Udon (closed in 1995), and a USVeterans of Foreign Warspost. But most importantly, the base and the consulate made the city into a regional hub for the northeast, and this continues today.
In recent years Udon received international attention because of the discovery of largepotashdeposits.Some anticipate the region would become a major exporter of the mineral. However, granting the necessary approvals has been substantially delayed due to public opposition to mining. Many villagers living near the proposed mine site fear that the mining company'senvironmental impact assessment(EIA) did not adequately address the problems of salinization of the groundwater and soil, as well as probability of land subsidence. Either of these would seriously threaten the economic stability of local communities that depend on rice farming for income. An existing potash mine,Udon North minehas attracted local opposition.
The province has been named as the locale of a USCIA"black site" used to interrogate suspected terrorists by the United States.Suspected locations includeRamasun Station, dominated by a largewullenweberarray,also known as the 7th Radio Research Field Station,in Tambon Non Sung ofMueang Udon Thani District; the 13th Artillery Battalion encampment (Camp Yutthasilpprasit) 13 km distant from Ramasun;Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base; and aVoice of America(VOA) broadcasting station inBan Dung District.
Theprovincial sealshows thetutelaryVaiśravaṇa, also known locally as Thao Wessuwan. This is in line with the name of the province, which means "northern city", and on the account, Vaiśravaṇa is the one ofFour Heavenly Kingsof the northern direction.
Theprovincial treeis theShorea obtusa, and the provincial flower is theButea monosperma.
The provincial aquatic life is the small edible carpLabiobarbus siamensis.
There are two national parks, along with five other national parks, make upregion 10 (Udon Thani)of Thailand's protected areas.
The province is divided into twenty districts (amphoe). Another five are now inNong Bua Lamphu province. The districts are further subdivided into 155 sub-districts (tambon) and 1682 villages (muban):
As of 26 November 2019 there are:one Udon Thani Provincial Administrative Organization – PAO (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 71 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. The capital Udon Thani has city (thesaban nakhon) status.Further Ban Dung, Nam Kham-Nong Sung and Nong Samrong have town (thesaban mueang) status and 67 subdistrict  municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 109 Subdistrict Administrative Organizations – SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Udon Thani's geographic position in the north ofnortheastern Thailandand its proximity to theLaotiancapital,Vientiane, has contributed to the province's rapid development as a transport and industrial hub. This has created jobs and attracted migrants from other states as well as from overseas, particularly fromIndonesia, thePhilippines,Vietnam,Myanmar,Bangladesh,India,Pakistan, andChina. In recent decades, the influx ofillegal immigrants, particularly from Vietnam, has further swelled Udon Thani's population. Udon Thani had a population of 1,562,520 as of 2023.  The province'sethnic compositionconsists of Lao, Chinese, and other ethnic groups. Population in eact Districts as follow:
Udon Thani is linked to the rest of Thailand by comprehensive air, road and rail connections. Most of the major highways that run through thenortheastern Thailand, includingMittraphap Road, serve Udon Thani as well.
Udon Thani International Airport, the province's primary airport, is in the district ofMueang Udon Thaninear the border withNong Khai province. Between them, several airlines operate over 160 flights per week (as of August 2017) toBangkok.
Udon Thani railway stationis the main railway station in Udon Thani.
Udon Thani has several tertiary education institutions, and is also home to an international school. Most of these academic centers are concentrated in major towns and cities in Udon Thani:
Notable hospitals in Udon Thani are listed below:
Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using theHuman achievement index(HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.
Television in Udon Thani consists of thirteenfree-to-airstations, onesatellite televisionnetwork, and twoInternet televisionservices. Seven of the thirteen free-to-air stations are broadcast fromLaos(with four foreign relay stations). All of Thai stations are broadcast fromBangkok, except for NBT which has two hours of local programming.
Radio stations in Udon Thani are available on FM frequencies.
Commercial radio stations available in Udon Thani include Radio One (88.5), New Music (89.0), Cool FM (89.3), SR Radio (89.9), UFM (90.25), Kiss FM (90.75), NN Radio (91.75), Big FM (92.5), Udon FM (97.0), Nice FM (97.25), Live Hits (98.0), WOW FM (98.25), Sayamchai FM (98.5), OK Love (100.0), P Radio (104.4), Mittaphap FM (104.75), Isama Radio (105.25), Wansabai Radio (106.5), and Hit FM (107.0). Commercial radio stations are operated by a few media companies.
Local community radio stations include Rajabhat University Radio (107.7) operated byUdon Thani Rajabhat University(only available in Udon Thani and Phen), EFM (101.25), and Education Radio (96.0) which targets university students.
The seven government radio networks available are Modern Radio (91.5), NBT (93.75), Parliament FM (87.5), Post FM (99.0), Border Patrol FM (100.25), Police FM (105.75). The regions of Udon Thani that border other provinces can also receive two otherMCOTradio stations; Khon Kaen FM (Udon Thani-Khon Kaen border) and Nong Khai FM (Udon Thani-Nong Khai border).
Radio stations fromLaosavailable areLNR 1(103.7), LNR 2 (97.3), and Vientiane City Radio (105.5).