Sukhothai and Ayutthaya are the twin pillars of cultural tourism in Thailand
In the process of establishing Thailand, there were Sukhothai dynasties, Ayutthaya dynasties, Thonburi dynasties, and Bangkok dynasties, all of which had different territories, but all had their names after their capitals. Sukhothai's rule lasted more than 100 years (some say more than 200 years), while Ayutthaya's rule began in the mid-14th century and ended in Burma in the mid-18th century. The Thonburi Dynasty was founded by Zheng Xin, a Chaoshan native, but it lasted only 15 years; The Bangkok royal family also ruled from 1782 onwards and has gone through a total of ten emperors.
The two dynasties Thonburi and Bangkok were founded on the east and west banks of the Chao Phraya River north of the Gulf of Thailand, respectively, and the city of Bangkok is now part of the city of Bangkok, and in the course of Thailand's historical development, it has also merged with Greater Bangkok. The Sukhothai Dynasty is considered to be the "** era" of Thailand, while Ayutthaya is a country with a history of more than 400 years, and they are the two most striking cultural attractions of Thailand's two major cultural heritages, which can be said to be a wall in Thailand's cultural tourism.
Sukhothai means "the dawn of happiness". Sukhothai (a provincial administrative region of Thailand, equivalent to a province in China), the capital of the Sukhothai Empire, is located in the old city of Sukhothai, with hundreds of ruins, Sukhothai Historical Park, which was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1991 and is also the first place to visit the ancient city of Sukhothai. And 12 kilometers to the east of Sukhothai is the busiest part of Sukhothai, with high-end hotels, restaurants, snacks and three meals a day.
The historical area of Sukhothai is roughly divided into five parts: the central part is the tourist attractions, including not only the National Museum of Ramkhamhaeng, but also the greatest king of the Sukhothai Dynasty, the largest temple in Sukhothai - Wat Mahathat, the Khmer-style Sisavat Temple, the birthplace of Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand, and the Sukhothai-style Sahi Temple; The best attractions in the north are: Peiluan Temple, Xichun Temple; The western area is mainly concentrated in the Shapanxin Monastery, the eastern and southern districts, Huanxiang Temple, Xie Tupeng Monastery. If you're not happy with that, you can do it again: West Sachanale – Charing Historical Park.
Ayutthaya, the English name Ayuthaya, means "the city of eternal victory", and the Chinese often refer to it as the big city. It is the capital of Thailand, about a hundred kilometers north of Bangkok, and is a dynasty with a long history. After 400 years and 33 generations of emperors, the Ayutthaya Dynasty was canonized as a Ming domain by the Ming Emperor, and was also influenced by the Khmer people, and at its peak there were more than 400 monasteries. After the Burmese invasion in 1767, the capital of the Ayutthaya dynasty was almost looted, but much of the historical stuff remains. Ayutthaya Historical Park was declared an International Monument in 1991.
The main ruins of Ayutthaya Historical Park are located on a small island along the river, and the main monasteries include the Ayutthaya Historical Research Center, the Chandara Kasen National Museum, the Thai Ship Museum, the Million Toy Museum, the Ayutthaya National Gallery located in the Ayutthaya Visitor Center, and the Mong Kyu Phopa Temple. In addition, there are seven or eight others.
Seven or eight temples, such as Wat Chaivatanaran, Wat Sampagong and further afield, Bang Pa Inha, were built in the 17th century and are still in use after generations of the Bangkok Dynasty.
There are many monuments in Ayutthaya, such as the charming murals of Wat Suwangdararan, the head of the Buddha in Wat Mahath, the 42-meter-tall reclining Buddha in Wat Lokaya Sutalam, and the more than 80,000 small Buddhas in Sambaogong Temple, all of which are distributed along the walls. It's just over an hour from Ayutthaya to Bangkok, but in order to be able to stay there, you still need to stay there for a night, as there are plenty of good hostels and plenty of food near the train station, so there are more options than Sukhothai.