Phichit

Phichit made the crocodile its god. The province calls itself "Chalawan City" after the Krai Thong folklore—the hero who conquered the crocodile king. The Siamese crocodile is the provincial aquatic animal; crocodile statues ring the town clock; the nickname "City of Crocodiles" draws tourists to farms and the Bueng Si Fai reservoir. What elsewhere might be pest control became here a foundation myth.

The low fertile plains that crocodiles once dominated now produce rice and lotus—only 0.4% of the province remains forested, the lowest coverage in Thailand. Post-World War II agricultural reforms transformed these floodplains into jasmine rice fields, making Phichit a vital contributor to Thai rice exports. The Phichit Industrial Estate facilitates limited manufacturing, positioning the province as a distribution hub for the lower northern region. In 2023, gross provincial product reached 52.5 billion baht.

Thailand farms over 1.2 million crocodiles across 1,000+ facilities—some with slaughterhouses and tanneries producing luxury goods for export, including to China under sanitary protocols. Phichit's September Long Boat Racing Festival on the Nan River shows the other face of its water culture. The province demonstrates how a dangerous species can be culturally appropriated: the crocodile that once threatened farmers now generates tourism revenue and leather exports, its symbolism inverted from predator to protector.