A Laotian-style temple in Isaan, with a chedi soaring 57 meters into the sky and boasting 110 kilograms of gold in its design, has been preliminarily accepted as a candidate on the list of sites being considered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites this year.

Sitting close to the banks of the Mekong River in the Nakhon Phanom town of That Phanom, the temple is rarely visited by tourists, but with the UNESCO seal of approval in place, that could change.

To this end, The Ministry of Natural Resources proposed registering Phra That Phanom as a UNESCO site for the upcoming 41st session of the World Heritage Committee. The committee approved the inclusion of Phra That Phanom in its preliminary list of World Heritage Site candidates. Nakhon Phanom officials now need to submit the necessary documents to officially list the site, reported Thai News Bureau.

The white-and-gold temple is thought to date back to the 10th century and is decorated with scenes from Brahman mythology. It is believed to contain a breast bone from the Buddha and was supposedly built on the spot where the breast bone was recovered.

The temple has been restored twice, in 1941 and 1975, and sits about 70 kilometers south of the provincial capital city of Nakhon Phanom.

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