Description: In the Beginning
Yaowarat Road was built between 1892 and 1900 by King Rama V. Stretching from Ong Ang canal to Wat Traimit Witthayaram it provided
Bangkok with additional 1532m of streets. Few imagined what this short stretch would become.
In the Name
Yaowarat means in Thai "Young King." While naming it, King Rama V referred to the fact he ascended to the throne at the age of fifteen. When he became later the responsible for keeping
Thailand away from colonizing powers and modernizing the country, this street got a special importance as yet another testimony of his reign.
Asian Streets
Different models exist for the design of cities. Colonial and
American cities stick to strict rectangular grids. My hometown uses radial avenues originating in various main plazas. Asian cities resemble trees; the main avenues are long branches with smaller streets and alleys splitting from them. Crossing from one main branch to another is difficult.
In Thailand, the main streets are called "thanon;" this may be confusing since avenues like Sukhumvit and streets like Khaosan are both called thanon. Small streets and alleys beginning from a thanon are called "soi;" usually they are numbered. The first alley along Sukhumvit would be called Sukhumvit 1, sometimes a nickname would also be given to it. A soi beginning at another soi would still be defined by the main avenue; following the former example, it could be called Sukhumvit 1/1. However, sometimes the venue is not even an alley; a very narrow soi is called a "trok;" finally, some alleys are not named or numbered at all.
Thus, I found it difficult to refer to addresses within Chinatown and decided to skip them at all, the explanation would become otherwise lengthy and cumbersome. However, finding the way within the maze is easy, since all of Chinatown spins around the wide Yaowarat Road.
Thai-Chinese
The historic migration of Thais into modern Thailand, was caused by the settlement of Han-Chinese in
Yunnan, the Thai
original territory. Chinese continued migrating south along the years and nowadays are a large minority in Thailand, some statistics show numbers well above 10% of the total population.
They are responsible for much of the commerce in the kingdom; for example, Chinese speaking the
Swatow dialect (a dialect using eight tones) hold the monopoly in the distribution of rice. Other areas of the country featuring large Thai-Chinese populations are
Hua Hin and Nakhon Sawan.
The area around Yaowarat became known as Chinatown, since it became the first - and largest for a long time - residential area of Thai-Chinese.
Reaching Chinatown
Bordering the
Chao Praya River and reaching the
Hualampong Railway Station, Bangkok's Chinatown is easily accessible and provides entertainment for a few hours. The Hualampong Metro Station reaches the northeastern corner of the Samphanthawong District - the formal name of the area.
A Different Kind of Chinatown
Chinatown Bangkok is different from similar areas elsewhere since Yaowarat Road is a wide avenue, creating thus a comfortable and uncluttered area for shopping. Alleys do exist; within them the archetypal image of a Chinatown can still be met.
Moreover, successful commerce transformed Yaowarat into the first high raising neighborhood in Bangkok, featuring buildings of seven and nine stories, both lucky numbers in the Chinese tradition. Many of them survived and their shops at the street level are still active. This is the only commercial quarter in Bangkok still functioning out of shops and not within modern, air-conditioned shopping malls.
The Sights
At first glance, it is difficult to difference this area from other neighborhoods in the city, however, the Chinese letters announcing gold shops, gewgaws, hole-in-the-wall shops, rice dishes, noodles soup, dim sum, bird's nest soup, and Chinese traditional medicine and food ingredients tell the secret even to the most distracted traveler.
The best place to begin an exploration of Chinatown is from the Hualampong Station. Crossing the bridge at its west leads to Wat Trimit, a temple were a three meters height Buddha made of 18 karats gold and weighing five and half tones can be appreciated. As a protection from the Burmese invader, the statue was covered with plaster; its golden interior was discovered only in 1954. Sitting in the Mara position, it is typical of the
Sukhothai Kingdom and thus it is dated to be around 800 years old. It is open daily between 8am and 5pm.
Half a long block southwest from the temple is the impressive Chinese Gate, announcing the entrance to the Yaowarat Road and to Chinatown heart; it is placed on the Odeon Circle. Note that the gate does not look into Yaowarat Road, the last is on the gate's side. If entering the Chinatown through the gate, some of the most attractive alleys are reached, but then missing the area north of Yaowarat is easy. The best tactic would be advancing along Yaowarat while performing short incursions into the alleys on its both sides.
Expectedly, the area features Chinese temples as well; after entering Yaowarat Road, the Thien Fah Foundation is the first one to appear at the left side of the road. Created in 1902, it was also the first Chinese foundation in Thailand. It was established by Chinese communities speaking five different dialects in order to provide medical care to the deprived, using modern and traditional Chinese medicine. A Kuan Yim shrine can be appreciated in its interior, the statue was brought from China in 1958. Written also Guan Yin, this is the Buddhists' Compassion Bodhisattva, depicted usually as a woman. The Ah Nia Geng Shrine shares a similar nature and is located roughly midway along the street.
Near it is the Guan Yu Shrine, a temple honoring a general of that name under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the Han Dynasty collapse and the establishment of the Kingdom of Shu. Slightly north of there is the Leng Buai Ia Temple, which is the oldest shrine in the area.
Deeper into Yaowarat, the area becomes exclusively commercial with shops specializing in gold, housewares, restaurants, fresh food and food ingredients and hotels. Traditionally, Thai-Chinese hold a big part of the hotels industry in Thailand; almost all the hotels next to railway and bus stations - which are almost exact copies of each other - belong to this community. Chinatown is a destination favored by travelers and displays an amazing amount of hotels; the most distinctive one is the China Town Hotel, mainly due to the two dragons atop it.
A Tops Supermarket hiding among a plethora of gold and red signs adds a modern touch to the area; nearby is a fish market that in concept dates back to immemorial times. Shark fins soup, birds nest soup and seafood are the best culinary attractions of the area
The neighborhood features even one of the oldest Catholic churches in the city. The Holy Rosary Church - Wat Mae Phra Luk Prakham or Wat Kalawar - is near the Chao Praya River at the very southern tip of the neighborhood. It was built in 1787, just after Bangkok's foundation, though the actual building dates back to 1890. Its history is fascinating; the Portuguese founded the Calvary Church in the Kingdom of
Ayutthaya, and almost succeeded in evangelizing Thailand. Later, the church moved here together with the kingdom's capital. The Portuguese "Calvario" became along the time distorted into "Kalawar." Near it is the River City; an arts and antiques shopping centre which is not directly related to Chinatown. Another interesting church in the area is the Maitrichit Chinese Baptist Church, featuring an impressive black tower.
The area is also known for the several small and specialized markets it hosts. Saphan Lek is the bridge crossing Khlong Ong Ang canal on Charoen Krung Road, features many small shops selling goods, especially game consoles. Nearby is Woeng Nakhon Kasem, Bangkok's Thieves Market. The Khlong Thom Market (in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, bordering Chinatown to the north) is a famous market for low cost electronics. During Saturdays nights, the stalls operate until dawn.
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