大城府历史公园的柴瓦塔那兰寺，泰国 Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple, Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand (© Weerasak Saeku/Getty Images)

大城府历史公园的柴瓦塔那兰寺，泰国 Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple, Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand (© Weerasak Saeku/Getty Images)

皇家寺庙的废墟 A Buddhist master-'peace'

大城府历史公园，泰国

当夕阳西下，泰国的夜幕降临，大城府历史公园里的柴瓦塔那兰寺灯火通明，迎接着夜晚的到来。虽然这座寺庙并非世界遗产大城府遗址的一部分，但它也有着丰富的历史和建筑底蕴。14世纪至18世纪，暹罗大城王朝统治东南亚，国王巴萨通建造了这座圣殿，象征着宇宙的中心。从佛寺出发，可以坐船或乘车到达历史名城大城府。如今，大城府已成为历史废墟，但曾经这里是重要的商业和外交中心，周围环绕的河流是其天然的防御屏障。

Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand

When the sun sets over Thailand, the Wat Chaiwatthanaram Buddhist temple lights up to welcome the night at the Ayutthaya Historical Park. These ruins are evidence of the area's rich history as the capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which grew in power between the 14th and 18th centuries to rule Siam, or present-day Thailand. Around 1630, Wat Chaiwatthanaram was built on the orders of the dynasty's King Prasat Thong, to symbolize the center of the universe and connote his aspiration to become the future Buddha.

From the temple, the Historic City of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site, can be reached by boat or road. Three rivers link the once-metropolitan city to the sea. Now a historical ruin, Ayutthaya was an important point of commerce and diplomacy, with its surrounding rivers serving as a natural defense.