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Thailand is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, and for visitors to Bangkok, the Thai capital’s Chinatown is an experience not to miss. Featuring well-preserved typical Chinatown streets with rich Chinese cultural elements that have accompanied the lives and career development of Chinese immigrants, the

community embodies important contributions that overseas Chinese people have made in fueling local social progress while strengthening friendship between the two countries. A Timeless Culture

The most bustling Chinatown in Southeast Asia with a history of nearly 200 years, Bangkok’s Chinatown surrounds one major street (Sampeng) and three roads (Yaowarat, Charoenkrung and A tour of Bangkok’s Chinatown: exploring the sights, sounds and smells of Chinese culture

By Zhang Hongrui

Song Wat). Locals inhabiting the area frequently speak Chinese dialects such as Teochew, Hakka and Cantonese.

As early as the reign of King Rama I (1782–1809), the Thonburi area on the western banks of the Chao Phraya River began welcoming the arrival of immigrants from China’s Guangdong. When the king relocated the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok on the eastern side of the Chao Phraya River, he designated a strip of land in Bangkok as the new settlement for Chinese immigrants. Back then, the area was relatively untouched and overrun with weeds, marshes and mud ponds. Thanks to Chinese immigrants’ efforts in land reclamation and road building over the many years that followed, the area gradually grew into a thriving community. During the reign

of King Rama III (1824-1851), a surge of immigrants flooded in, and the community continued expanding to eventually form what is now known as Chinatown.

Yaowarat Road is the main artery of Chinatown Bangkok. Its construction began during the reign of King Rama V

(1868-1910) and was not fully

Characters

representing Taoist gods on a street in Bangkok’s China-town during the opening ceremony of the Chinese

Vegetarian Festival on September 24, 2014.

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