A Brief Guide to Bangkok’s Chinatown

A Brief Guide to Bangkok’s Chinatown

Pretty much every city on the planet has its own Chinatown. But anyone visiting Bangkok will undoubtedly notice how deeply-ingrained within much of Thai society the Chinese influence runs, which is why Bangkok’s Chinatown is a must-visit when in the Thai capital.

It may be debatable, but Bangkok’s Chinatown is reportedly one of the largest across the globe, and it is almost certainly true that Thailand has the largest population of those with Chinese ancestry in SE Asia.

This makes Bangkok’s Chinatown a fascinating, lively, if not chaotic region of the city that was largely built up from the concentration of migrants who had firmly settled into Thailand by the 19^th century, although there had always been reasonable proportions of Chinese in the region for a few hundred years prior to that due to trade and various other interactions.

Image by ninara sourced from wikimedia commons

To put this into perspective more fully, by the early 1900s more than 10 per cent of the Thai population was reportedly Chinese. This is by no means an indication that relations for Chinese have always been smooth though, and there have been periods when migrants into Siam suffered their fair share of being discriminated against, with distant echoes of these underlying sentiments still existing in some quarters today.

However, this was also a determining factor in the majority of the settled Chinese migrants in Thailand changing their names and adopting Thai surnames, thus allowing them to integrate more easily into Thai society. Today many of the subsequent generations, although acknowledging and maintaining some links to their heritage, largely consider themselves as Thais. 

But Chinatown in Bangkok is a different matter. It’s a mish-mash of various influences, but it maintains its association with strict Chinese culture in many ways. Here you’ll find plenty of temples and shrines which are an obvious giveaway, along with markets, traditional restaurants, and the famed street food.

There is definitely a whiff of change in the air though. Although this part of the ‘Old Town’ of Bangkok, which comprises the Chinatown district, has largely escaped the wrath of developers, there is a distinct hint of modernisation creeping into the area.

Image by marcin konsek from wikimedia commons

This comes largely by way of hip new cafes, bars, restaurants and various types of accommodation housed in many of the old shop houses. There is also the MRT subway line extension which has made the area much more easily-accessible.

One of the best ways to explore Chinatown once you get there is undoubtedly on foot. Just take a wander and see if you can find your way back the way you came without the aid of Google map!

So let’s take a deeper delve into some of the sights, sounds and smells that Bangkok’s Chinatown has to offer.

Shopping in Chinatown

Shopping in Chinatown is quite a bit different from what you might find in other regions of Bangkok with its distinct lack off super-modern shopping complexes.

What you will find here is a more traditional approach towards shopping and you may well end up getting lost down winding alleyways where stores trade the same kind of wares as previous generations may have done.

Prices in this area are widely-regarded as some the cheapest you are likely to encounter in Bangkok, but you’ll need some degree of skill as far as bargaining goes to get the best ones.

Sampeng Lane

Sampeng is jumbled, chaotic, somewhat annoying in the heat, and rather interesting in that it was the first, original high street of the area when the community first began to establish itself. In fact, it pretty much epitomises the area and is one of the first places that many locals head when they come down here looking for something.

Image by vyacheslav argenberg sourced from wikimedia commons

This street is basically a slim and winding alley of seeming clutter that seems in need of a helping hand in terms of logical organisation. Upon closer inspection though, it becomes a bit more apparent that you can find just about anything here, although admittedly not always that easily.

Location: Soi Wanit 1, Chakkrawat Rd, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100

Hours: Daily from 8.30 am to 6 pm

Balanna Plaza

If you are even remotely any kind of shoe fan then this is the place to come. Balanna Plaza is all about shoes, and you’ll actually find this place in Samepeng Lane.

Name brands of sports shoes such as Nike, Vans, and Converse can be found here with a mark-up significantly lower than in your average sports store – so you’ll have to follow your nose on that one as there are obviously a few less-than-genuine’ items around – and there are wholesale prices that are even lower.

It’s not all sports shoes though and there are other shoe styles for both men and women. Again bargaining skills may need to be brought into play here, especially if you are considering buying wholesale.

Location: 386-389 Soi Wanit 1, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100

Hours: Monday–Saturday from 4 am to 6 pm, closed on Sundays

Gold Shops (Hua Seng Heng)

If you are a fan of the bright-yellow Asian gold so loved by the Thais, then you might need to know that Yaowarat Road is considered by the majority of locals to be the best place to pick some up. This goes for both price and quality, although the gold prices are pretty much fixed even though they vary greatly in value as the price of gold fluctuates.

Image by christophe95 from wikimedia cmmons

One of the best places to buy gold along this road is Hua Seng Heng, a 50-year-old shop selling gold considered to be some of the purest that is available, at around 96.5% pure.

This shop has a well-earned reputation among the Thai and Thai-Chinese communities, even though there are literally throngs of gold shops along the main Yaowarat Road.  

Location: 401-407 Yaowarat Rd, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand

Hours: Daily from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm

Tel: (+66) 2 225 0202

Talat Kao

Talat Kao is another piece of heritage as far as Bangkok’s Chinatown goes. It is a market that stretches back 200 years or more and was another one of the first stronghold trading areas for the region’s first Chinese settlers.

Image by jorge lascar from wikmedia commons

It is way more modern these days, and is popular for certain types of food and snacks. You will find seasonal fruits at some of the most reasonable prices around from some of the first stalls on the street here. A little deeper into the market you will find various dried goods and snacks that are not that common elsewhere.

Location: Soi Lat Krabang 5, Lat Krabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailand

Hours: Daily from 8 am until late

Tel: (+66) 99 383 0304

Old Siam Plaza

If you are looking for some respite from the dust and heat then dive into this shopping arcade, which has probably seen better days but is at least air-conditioned, located in one of the old European-style buildings in the area.

Inside is a mix of various shops and food stalls which include boutiques and tailors, and if you fancy stocking up on a few weapons while you are in the area for any reason, outside the shopping centre there are several stores specialising in guns, knives and hunting gear – however, you do need a license to buy weapons – at least officially.

Location: Phahurat Rd, Wang Burapha Phirom, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200

Hours: Daily from 9 am to 8 pm

Tel: (+66) 2 226 0156

Klong Thom Market

This is a place that comes into its own on Saturdays from 5pm onwards and is best known for the place to peruse various second-hand goods and assorted bric-a-brac.

To give some idea of the essence of this particular market, it was known in the past as the ‘Flashlight Market’ as buyers were thought to need a flashlight to see what they were buying, but it does get pretty packed on Saturday nights.

Klong Thom covers a fair stretch and incorporates everything from spare car parts to electronic devices to kids’ toys, clothing, and quite a bit more.

Location: Samphanthawong, Pomprapsattruphai, Bangkok 10100

Hours: Saturday from 5 pm to 1 am

Food

Chinatown at night is a renowned eating hotspot for many Thais, although its reputation has even spread across the globe in recent years.

There is quite a selection of street food vendors in the area, with some of them not even starting up until after dark on the main Yaowarat Road. In terms of street food then there is no shortage of vendors at any particular time, but those ‘in the know’ are known to seek out some of the best stalls at night.

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Lots of Thai food of all forms is evident as well as plenty of the more Chinese-oriented style of cuisine which many locals head to the region for. You might pay a little more for street food around here than in other areas of the city but that is because of the location and reputation – not to mention demand.

If you fancy a curry-and-rice meal on a plastic chair, or sampling the wares of award-winning noodle vendors, then this is the place to do just that while further soaking up the ambience of the area.

There are of course plenty of eat-in restaurants along the streets here, from seafood to traditional Chinese cuisine, and obviously these will be even more on the expensive side, but probably worth trying at least once to challenge any preconceptions you may have regarding Chinese food.

Some of these stalls are actually quite famous among locals and many again have been featured in various magazine articles related to food the world across. This is grass-roots, authentic, tried & tested street food in Thailand — albeit it with a Chinese twist – at its very best, so head on down to this region of Chinatown in Bangkok if you get bod with hit-and-miss experiences in other parts of the city.

Image by marcin konsek from wikimedia commons

Temples

Aside from the landmark Chinese temple Leng Noi Yee, there are various other temples in the region.

And although many of these temples veer more towards the Chinese style — the ‘Dragon Lotus Temple’ (Wat Mangkon) being another good example of prestigious Chinese temples in Bangkok — there are also some of the more traditional Thai-style temples in the Chinatown area, the most well-known and visited being the ‘Temple of the Golden Buddha’( Wat Traimit).

Itsaraphap Lane and Leng Noi Yee Temple

This is basically a partially covered walking street that is pretty narrow but leads up to another of the area’s prominent landmarks by way of a Chinese temple.

Image by patrikmloeff sourced from creativecommons.org

The lane stretches from the Chao Phraya River up to Leng Noi Yee Temple, which is apparently the most established and significant Chinese temple in Thailand. If you take a wander along Itsaraphap Lane between Yaowarat and Leng Noi Yee Temple, you’ll see all manner of things that epitomise this area and its inherent cultural ties.

Location: Soi Itsaraphap, Samre, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600, Thailand

Hours: daily from 9 am to 6 pm

Wat Mangkon

This a fairly busy temple smack-bang in the centre of Chinatown’s bustle. The place has a seemingly endless stream of people, mainly who are mainly locals, coming and going to leave religious offerings. The temple is not too difficult to find and is quite close to some of Chinatown’s best street food spots.  

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There is plenty of Buddhist and Chinese imagery and symbolism in and around the temple, including of statues depicting religious items like gardens, parasols, pagodas, and snake’s heads, and this is the place to be (if you like crowds) to see Chinese-style ceremonies in full swing during times such as Chinese New Year and various other festivals.

The location of the temple is on Mangkon Road, admission is free, and you can gain access between 9am-6pm.

Wat Traimit

This is as much of a tourist attraction as any of the other famous Thai temples in Bangkok and presents a good opportunity to visit the Chinatown area for many tourists. It’s on a road of the same name and is normally open between 9 am and 5 pm.

The main attraction of Wat Traimit is that it houses what is apparently the world’s largest golden Buddha statue, which is made of five and a half tonnes of 18-karat gold. The story is that when it was being moved to Bangkok and was accidentally dropped, the plaster that had been put over it, possibly to hide it from marauders of the Ayutthaya era, was cracked to reveal all of its golden glory.