The Lampang College of Commerce & Technology: Pictured above (l-r) are Dr. Korawik Pornnimit, President of the Lampang College of Commerce and Technology, William Madden, Coordinator 2009 USG Faculty Seminar to Thailand, and Dr. Chakkapan Pornnimit, Vice-President, Lampang Inter-tech College.
Lampang (Thai ลำปาง) is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Rai, Phayao, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, Lamphun and Chiang Mai. As described in its Wikipedia entry, "Lampang, also called "meuang rot ma" in Thai, meaning "Horse Carriage City", is considered by some Thais as the last paradise in Thailand. It is located about 100 km to the southeast of Chiang Mai. Although well-connected by rail, and 4-lane highways to both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, it is here that tourists can still find the horse-drawn carriages in regular use for transportation. This, together with the relative lack of skyscrapers that have contaminated Chiang Mai's skyline of late, make Lampang an increasingly favored setting for period drama. One account attributes the horse-drawn carriage to the Portuguese, via Macau, although a more likely origin is colonial Burma—Lampang was an important center of timber industry in the early 20th century and saw an influx of migrants from British-controlled Burma. The horse-drawn carriage is one of the most memorable symbols of Lampang, as reflected in many traditional products."
Besides the traditional rice paddy farming, pineapple, and sugarcane constitute major food crops. Lampang has a large deposit of lignite in Mae Moh district, and hosted several coal-fired electricity generating plants [. . .] Lampang also has a large deposit of kaolin which is widely utilized in the ceramics industry. Historically, logging was an important industry, since Lampang, together with nearby Phrae had a large stand of teak. Many elephants were employed to transport the logs to the river for transport to Bangkok, hence a founding of the 'Elephant School', the predecessor of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. Much of the old growth teak stands in Lampang have been thoroughly harvested.