Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, was founded in 1296 as the capital of the Thai Kingdom of Lanna. Chiang Mai is renowned for its Old City, which is encircled by ancient walls and a moat, and for its more than 300 Buddhist temples. The city is also referred to as the “Rose of the North”. Chiang Mai is on the Tentative UNESCO World Heritage List as "Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna".