Chiang Mai mayor Tassanai Buranupakorn joined the ceremony to worship at a spirit house asking forgiveness from the River Goddess, part of the annual Loy Krathong and Yipeng celebrations.
Giant lantern contests were held this morning at many temples in the province as well as in Chiang Mai municipality.
Lanterns in many shapes were submitted by competing organizations and agencies to contest the festive event.
Some lanterns are as high as the three-story building.
The lantern launching time was given to the Chiang Mai Air Traffic Control Centre and Chiang Mai Airport to maintain flight security so that there would be no floating objects wandering into aircraft flight paths.
Tonight a contest of small loy krathong vessels will be held along with a fireworks display and other activities.
