| Official Name: | Phaya Mengrai |
| Native Name: | พญาเม็งราย |
| Native Name Lang: | th |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Thailand |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Chiang Rai |
| Subdivision Type2: | Seat |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mengrai |
| Subdivision Type3: | Subdistrict |
| Subdivision Type4: | Muban |
| Established Title: | District established |
| Population Total: | 41972 |
| Population As Of: | 2005 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Postal code |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 57290 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Geocode |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 5712 |
| Timezone: | ICT |
| Utc Offset: | +7 |
| Coordinates: | 19.8489°N 100.1536°W |
Phaya Mengrai (th|พญาเม็งราย, pronounced as /th/; nod|พญามังฮาย, pronounced as /pʰā.ɲāː māŋ.hāːj/) is a district (amphoe) of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise): Wiang Chai, Wiang Chiang Rung, Chiang Khong, Khun Tan and Thoeng of Chiang Rai Province.
The minor district (king amphoe) was created on 5 May 1981, when the three tambons Mae Pao, Mae Tam, and Mai Ya were split off from Thoeng district.[1] It was upgraded to a full district on 12 August 1987.[2]
The district is named after King Mengrai, the founder of the Lanna kingdom of northern Thailand.
Tambon Phay Mengrai is the site of a 2,700 rai Cavindish banana plantation owned and operated by the Chinese firm, Hongta International, a major local employer. The Cavendish banana is controversial as its cultivation requires the intensive use of chemical pesticides to yield harvests for export.[3] The Mekong-Lanna nature conservation network has accused the Chinese plantation of heavy use of pesticides and excessive water takings from Mae Ing Creek. These charges are as yet unsubstantiated (2016).[4]
The district is divided into five sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 69 villages (mubans). Phaya Mengrai is a township (thesaban tambon) which covers parts of tambons Mengrai and Mae Pao. There are a further five tambon administrative organizations (TAO).
| No. | Name | Thai name | Villages | Pop. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mae Pao | แม่เปา | 19 | 11,302 | ||
| 2. | Mae Tam | แม่ต๋ำ | 11 | 5,026 | ||
| 3. | Mai Ya | ไม้ยา | 17 | 11,069 | ||
| 4. | Mengrai | เม็งราย | 14 | 9,899 | ||
| 5. | Tat Khwan | ตาดควัน | 8 | 4,676 |