Wat Phra Kaew is famous throughout Thailand for being the place where the Emerald Buddha (now in the Grand Palace in Bangkok) was discovered. Legend has it that a lightning bolt struck an old chedi at the wat in 1434 thus revealing the translucent emerald statue. The one in Chiang Rai now is a replica. Wat Phra Kaew was granted Royal status in 1978 and is now ​a centre for Buddhist learning in Northern Thailand. It also serves as a museum which holds many items of religious art from the Lanna period.