The attractions of Chiang Mai in the early days of “tourism” were said to be “good weather, beautiful flowers, pretty girls, and strange cultures.” A musical play based on the opera “Madame Butterfly,” called “Sao Khrue Fa” (Somchote Ongsakul et al. 2003), the heroine of which was a Chiang Mai girl, was at one time very popular in Bangkok society. During the Winter Festival of 1938 a beauty contest was held in Chiang Mai. Winners were sent the following year to the national contest in Bangkok and won. The Seventh Medical Conference was held in Chiang Mai and there were about 500 participants including representatives of USOM. This led to the foundation of a Medical School in 1958 supported by USOM. Chiang Mai was selected as the site of the School instead of Phitsanuloke, which the Thai Government preferred, because the Director of USOM liked Chiang Mai with its pleasant cool weather and beautiful flowers. In 1966 Chiang Mai University, the first regional university in Thailand, was founded (Somchote Ongsakul et al. 2003)