Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is considered to be one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots in Thailand due to its relic as well as the influence from Chiang Mai being the center of the Lanna Kingdom back in the 14th century. In fact the wat can get 120,000 visitors per month, with the numbers being higher during holidays like Songkhan and more especially Visakha Bucha Day when local people climb the mountain and sleep on the esplanade of the temple to commemorate the birth of the Buddha. Most of these visitors are from Thailand, Singapore, China, and India and they consider themselves pilgrim-tourist because they pay homage to the site but also indulge on the surrounding attractions. Tourism is always going to be a huge part of the wat and because of the economics of this, political actions will always come around. This first begins with Khruba Sriwichai who oversaw building the road in 1935. He was a huge part of the Buddhist culture in this region because of his great merit and dedication to the culture but also the building projects he took on. At the turn of the 20th century, the Thai Buddhist authorities were attempting to centralize and integrate the loosely conformed northern Buddhist leaders to more of a national hierarchical order. Sriwichai was one of the main speakers against this and became a symbol of the religious and societal freedom of the northern culture. His spirit could be seen again in the 1980s when there was talk of a cable car being installed to the wat instead of using the road. This caused a huge debate and put into question the sanctity of the wat. Part of the Buddhist culture is the pilgrimage to wats and by introducing this device, would it take away from that aspect? The government and the locals battled long and hard over who it would truly benefit and the religious aspects, but eventually the locals rallying support led to the plan being scrapped.