Chiang Mai means "new city" and was so-named because it was the new capital, founded in 1296, of the Lanna kingdom. A square walled city was then built surrounded by a moat, which still stood today and homes of dozens of Buddhist Temples. Since 1990, tall buildings were banned within the walled city to preserve its originality at best. Chaing Mai has been grown in cultural, trading and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of northern Thailand and considered as the second important city in Thailand, just after Bangkok. It has a tropical wet and dry climate, tempered by the low latitude and moderate elevation, with warm to hot weather year-round.