Bang Phli district
Bang Phli (, ) is a district ("amphoe") of Samut Prakan province in Thailand. It is home to Suvarnabhumi Airport (also called (New) Bangkok International Airport), which opened on 28 September 2006 as Thailand's primary airport. The district was part of the once-proposed Nakhon Suvarnabhumi province. History. Bang Phli appeared as evidence that it has been a habitat since the Khmer era (around 435–1158), because many areas around it are names that are derived from Khmer such as Thap Nang, Nam Daeng, Bang Chalong etc. The Khlong Samrong canal, which is long, flows through the area and  is considered a main watercourse. Rattanakosin's renowned poet Sunthorn Phu wrote about Khlong Samrong in his work ""Nirat Mueang Klaeng"" during a visit to his father in Rayong Province. When he arrived here and impressed with the young people that take a boat pass through. The name "Bang Phli" came from the assumption that when King Naresuan the Great fought with the enemies that came to invade Ayutthaya. He stopped the army here and have performed a ritual called ""Bat Phli"" to terrorize the enemies and to be an auspicious for the army. In the reign of King Rama  III, Bang Phli became a community where more people came to live, consisting of a variety of people, such as Laotians, Mons with Teochews and Hainanese. Most Chinese have a career in trading and building houses along the waterfront. Therefore, causing Bang Phli to prosper respectively and raised the status to a district in 1895. Geography. Bang Phli district is on the eastern outskirts of Bangkok bisected by the Bang Na-Chonburi Expressway. Neighboring districts are Bang Na, Prawet, and Lat Krabang (all in Bangkok) in the north, Bang Sao Thong and Bang Bo to the east, and Mueang Samut  Prakan to the south and west. Administration. The district is divided into six sub-districts ("tambons"), which are further subdivided into 83 villages ("mubans"). Bang Phli itself is also a sub-district municipality ("thesaban tambon") which includes parts of "tambons" Bang Phli Yai, Bang Pla, and Bang Chao Long. There are another six tambon administrative organizations (TAO) in the district. Economy. Bang Phli is home to a number of manufacturing companies including Plan Toys; lingerie company, Triumph International; auto parts maker, Yarnphan; Surf Technicians Inc.; windsurfing equipment design company, Natural Corporation; chemical manufacturer, Hanwha Chemical alkali soluble resin (ASR) and  emulsion plant; furniture manufacturer, Rockworth;, Hino Motors, and a Nivea cosmetics production plant. The first IKEA store in Thailand opened at Mega Bangna on the Bang Na-Bang Pakong Highway in Bang Kaeo in late-2011. Festivals. Bang Phli is known for its annual Lotus Flower (Rap Bua) Festival, which takes place on the last day of vassa on the fourteenth day of the waxing moon in the eleventh lunar month, usually the full moon in October. A boat carrying a replica of the "Luang Poh To" Buddha statue from the temple Wat Bang Pli Yai Nai is moved along the  Khlong Samrong canal. The people on the banks of the canal throw lotus flowers onto the boat, as donating lotus flowers to Buddha is merit-making.