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Earlier names
The temple was called Wat Chaeng when Taksin set up his capital beside it
A Buddhist temple stood here in the Ayutthaya period, known as Wat Bang Makok. After the fall of Ayutthaya, Taksin renamed it Wat Chaeng. It is believed he vowed to restore the temple after passing it at dawn.
The Emerald Buddha
The Emerald Buddha was kept here before it crossed the river in 1785
The temple stood on the grounds of Taksin's palace and enshrined the Emerald Buddha until it was moved to Wat Phra Kaew on the east bank in 1785. Rama I then moved the palace across the river, and the temple was abandoned until Rama II restored it.
The prang
The central prang was finished in 1851 after nine years of building
Rama II planned to raise the main pagoda to 70 m, and work began under Rama III. The main prang was completed in 1851. Sources give its height as anywhere from 66.8 m to 86 m.
1851the year the main prang was completed
Porcelain
The prang is covered in porcelain that once weighed down ships from China
The prang are decorated with shells and bits of porcelain, which had been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. The central prang is topped with a seven-pronged trident and stands for Mount Meru in Hindu cosmology.
Restored
A restoration from 2013 to 2017 drew criticism for a whitewashed look
The most extensive restoration of the prang ran from 2013 to 2017, and many broken tiles were replaced. Photographs drew some criticism that the temple looked whitewashed. The Fine Arts Department said the work reflected the original appearance.
Day 1, afternoon
It comes after Wat Pho.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Wat Arun, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.