Lying south of the Dusit and Banglamphu areas, the Chinatown district is one of the oldest areas of Bangkok. Chinese merchants were originally moved into this area when Bangkok as a city was founded. One of the main streets in the area, Charoen Krung (translated as 'Prosperous city'), was actually Bangkok's first paved road. Bangkok's vibrant Chinatown district today runs along Yaowarat Road which starts at Odeon Circle, where a huge ceremonial Chinese gate unmistakably marks the entrance to the Chinese world.

Decades ago Chinatown had a large number of opium dens, brothels (which hung green lanterns outside, giving it the name of the Green Light district), pawnshops and a fondness for gambling. Today, gold shops are still very popular in Chinatown and can be found almost on every corner and in between.

Nevertheless, Chinatown is a pretty interesting area to visit. The main roads are not very dissimilar to those in other parts of Bangkok, but the genuine Chinatown feeling lies within the numerous small busy roads, narrow alleys and backstreets.

The Chinese in Chinatown have been living in Thailand for generations, and generally consider themselves very much Thais. The Chinese community in Bangkok pre-dates the founding of the Thai capital in the city. Indeed, the land where the grand palace is today was originally a community of Chinese traders.

Chinatown itself was started when King Rama I decided in 1782 to establish the capital on the eastern bank of the Chao Phrya River. The Chinese immigrants, who were originally settled in what is now the Grand Palace, had to move out to a strip of land 2 kilometers down the river. Over the years, the settlement really grew and today Chinatown covers a square area bounded by Phadung Krung Kasem Canal to the east, the Ong Ang Canal to the west, Luang Road to the north and the Chao Phraya River to the south, a total area of about 2 square kilometers.

In 1902, the foreign community, who settled on the river further east of Chinatown, petitioned the King for a larger road. Yaowarat Road was built as a result, and the celebration of the road's 111th birthday was the highlight of Chinatown's 2003 Chinese New Year celebration.

Very close to the intersection of Charoen Krung and Yaowarat road is perhaps one of the main attractions in Chinatown; Wat Traimit, also known as the Temple of the Golden Buddha. At first glance, the 3 meter high Buddha image housed inside the temple compound looks distinctly average. What is fascinating about it however is the remarkable fact that it is made from 5.5 tons of solid gold!

The story behind the image is that in 1957 a large ancient stucco Buddha statue was being moved by a crane. To the shock of all concerned, the crane operator accidentally collided the image with a wall and in the process cracked it open partially, revealing the solid gold image hidden underneath. It is thought to have been covered in concrete during the early Ayuthaya or Sukhothai period, apparently to protect the image from the invading Burmese, and remained that way for several hundred years.

At the heart of Bangkok's Chinatown is the Chinese-Buddhist temple of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, known in Chinese as Wat Leng Nui Yee. The temple is the center of festivities during important festivals such as Chinese new year and the vegetarian festival and by far the most interesting cultural aspect of the quarter.

The entrance to the temple is through a passageway off Charoen Krung Road. The temple is a low rambling structure with dragons playing with a pearl on the roof. Inside you'll find a labyrinth of courtyards and passages connecting various alters to Buddha as well as Taoist deities. All the while, the smoke of hundreds, perhaps thousands of sticks of incense fills and swirls about the courtyards.

If you make your way back far enough, you'll find one courtyard with cases full of standing gilded Buddha images on either side. Outside of the temple building is a small chedi, as well as a place to burn paper offerings for ancestors.

Chinatown is also an interesting place to just wander around. A couple of Chinatown's most interesting roads for wandering are Yaowarat road and Sampeng Lane which runs parallel south of Yaowarat Road.
 
Busy Yaowarat road is Chinatown's main street and the name the locals use to refer to the area. The first thing most people notice is the great concentrations of gold shops, reflecting the love of gold of the Thai-Chinese. There's dozens, all dazzlingly brightly colored, and with very good prices.

There's also plenty of restaurants around where you can get birds-nest soup, dim sum, shark fin soup and other traditional Chinese delicacies. In addition, a number of the streets are covered with vendors selling Chinese herbal medicine, dried mushrooms, salted fish, roasted chestnuts, Chinese calendars, and almanacs. There are also a couple of large, long, narrow, and well stocked markets selling all kinds of dried food goods running perpindicular and connecting Yaowarat and Charoen Krung roads, which also run parallel to each other.

The narrow, crammed Sampeng Lane is a very busy predominately pedestrian street, although there is the odd motorbike that tries to get past. The street is a swarm of constant bustling commercial activity. It runs from the Phahurat Market all the way down to Songsawat Road. The lane is too small for cars, and is now a crowded market selling mostly inexpensive household items, textiles and fabrics. Near the Tang To Gung gold shop is a very old Chinese pharmacy that is definitely worth a look.

The Thieves Market, or Nakhon Kasem is slightly north of the western end of Sampeng Lane and is a good area for looking or buying Thai or Chinese antiques. There's quite a number of shops and a reasonable range of second hand goods.

Every year during the Chinese New Year, Yaowarat Road is closed to traffic for street festivities, lion dances, Chinese opera (as seen in the photo above) and food fairs. A member of the royal family graces the occasion to the joy and pride of the Yaowarat community.

A tour of Bangkok’s Chinatown provides a fascinating insight into a very different way of life. With 10 temples, 20 shrines and old shops and homes, Chinatown is a wealth of cultural treasures which thankfully have been preserved for more than two centuries. The busy streets are a melting pot of communities engaging in commerce and they're as busy as ever today. The legacy of the early Chinese immigrants to Bangkok and their enterprise lives on.