In the cultural haven of Chiang Mai, the temples, a religious reverence is what you'd expect.
But, a closer look, what you see is downright startling --
the edgy charm of a modern city; the coffee culture, the digital nomads, the art, the creative vibe.
And somehow, much of it is expressed with a wink and a nod to the noble Lanna Kingdom, the historical roots of northern Thailand.
I think they've got a lot of amazing culture to kind of select inspiration from, and there's a lot of artwork produced with the kind of underlying Buddhist influences.
Kate Jade Hawker, a curator and artist from Britain, came here a few years ago to connect artists worldwide with the unique, creative energy of this place.
But, there's a practical side to all this creativity -- a movement in Chiang Mai to give this city a UNESCO Creative City designation.
Premruedee Kullasu is one of its leaders and she explains the challenge.
It will have a very modern application in the end.
Yes. Yes, in the term[s] of the marketing.
Yeah, because if we['re] thinking only [to] preserve the traditional, but we cannot do [that] for the marketing, [it means] that the new generation will not [be] [interested] [in it].
Here we see your Aladdin chair being made.
Nopporn Kaewnew's Aladdin chair -- organic, free-flowing and crafted from wood waste.
The head of Don Designs tells us getting his furniture pieces to a wider clientele would be much more difficult without the Creative Chiang Mai campaign.
Chiang Mai [was] unseen before in the world, but now I think with social network can [promote] what we have in Chiang Mai easily.
You know, you just click from the... on your computer and then you can see what we have in Chiang Mai.
Kamin Lertchaiprasert is already a world-renowned conceptual artist and the creator of 31st Century Museum,
a new concept in creative space that embodies his motto, "Spirit is art."
He tells me he moved here from Bangkok more than 20 years ago,
and this city, the creative den of inspiration it has become, has made him the artist he is today.
You talked about, just, there's spirituality here. Do you think that lends itself a lot to creativity?
Yeah, I think they have some influence -- the culture, the people here and... yeah.
You think it does influence the art?
Yeah, somehow. Maybe you don't know clearly, but somehow I think it's part of it. You cannot separate [one] from another.
The essence of Chiang Mai's creative spirit is firmly grounded in the past,
but the modern take here, they tell us, is about a shared concept of sincerity and authenticity.