Pua

Pua was an early centre of the northern Tai country in the upper Nan valley. Also known as Woranakhon, it was ruled by the Phukha dynasty and lay amid mountains that sheltered river settlements and sources of salt. The salt wells of the eastern highlands supplied a valuable commodity exchanged with neighbouring towns and more distant regions. In the fourteenth century Pua's rulers moved their centre south to Phu Phiang Chae Haeng, and later to the site of Nan. Their state maintained ties with Sukhothai before falling under the influence of Lan Na in the fifteenth century. Pua remained part of the older homeland from which the Nan dynasty had emerged.