When the crew of “Detective Chinatown” was about to go to the UK for filming, when we watched it back, we found that in this series of movies, the audience was most impressed by Bangkok, the first stop. Bangkok Chinatown was born almost at the same time as Bangkok City, and its existence is legendary.
One
welcome to chinatown
In the west of Bangkok, Thailand, there is a veritable “China Town”, with thousands of business names and Chinese signboards, reflecting Chinese cultural customs everywhere. This is one of the most prosperous business districts in Bangkok – Chinatown.
Exit from the subway exit of Hua Lamphong Railway Station, find a bridge connecting the two banks, and you will find the most nostalgic Chinatown entrance. Chinatown, as the name suggests, almost all the people living in this neighborhood are Chinese. The relationship between the Chinese and Thailand can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries. As early as the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, there were already records of the Siamese envoys. The rich tin resources in southern Thailand, represented by Phuket, attracted the first batch of Chinese to make a living. The history of Chinese in central Thailand begins with the Ayutthaya Dynasty in the 16th century. At that time, the Chinese who came to Ayutthaya along with the sailing trade settled in the area one after another for the convenience of business and trade. By the middle of the 17th century, the number of Chinese in Ayutthaya reached 4,000. Some of the Chinese participated in the battle of the Ayutthaya Dynasty against the Burmese invasion. Under the leadership of Zheng Xin, they fought side by side with the Thais to drive out the Burmese army. Later, the Thonburi Dynasty was established in the south of the former Ayutthaya King City and on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River (that is, the Thonburi area now).
Zheng Xin, who is of Chinese descent, took charge of the Thonburi Dynasty, which brought a more relaxed environment for Chinese to trade in Thailand. A large number of Chaoshan people who sought business opportunities immigrated to Thailand, and gradually formed a Chinese community on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River. In 1782, the Bangkok Dynasty was established. The new King Rama I decided to build the capital on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River. He gave the land of the Sampin River and the House of the Sampin River to the Chinese to build a new home. This is what we are today. The Sanpin District, the earliest core area of Bangkok’s Chinatown, was seen.
Afterwards, the sailboat trade between Thailand and China became more and more prosperous, and the Sanpin community gradually grew stronger. Rama V King Chulalongkorn ordered the construction of Yaowarat Road, which gradually became synonymous with “China Town”.
Today’s Chinatown in Bangkok is composed of three main streets: Sanpin Street, Yaowarat Road, and Shilongjun Road. With the three main roads as the core, several complex streets and alleys are extended and staggered. On the 2-kilometer-long street, quaint arcades, flashing neon lights, fragrant food, and tuk-tuks shuttle through the alleys together constitute a must-visit destination for traveling in Bangkok.
Two
Temple Walking Tour
The most eye-catching building in Chinatown is the Golden Buddha Temple. It is said that this temple is named after the Big Golden Buddha, one of Thailand’s three national treasures. In fact, the fate of this name and the temple is less than 70 years.
The Golden Buddha Temple was first built in 1831 and was first built with donations from three Chinese people, so it is also called Sanyou Temple. With the passage of time and the erosion of wind and rain, the old buildings were damaged. In 1937, the Golden Buddha Temple was demolished, and the new temple was rebuilt on the original site, which is what we see today. The treasure of the town temple, the Golden Buddha, was originally an ancient Buddha invited here from another temple to enshrine in 1935. In 1955, people accidentally dropped it when they were preparing to move it into a new Buddhist temple, only to find that it was wrapped in gray and black mud. The golden body of the Buddha statue. Travelers who are willing to take the time to learn about history can read relevant information in the Sizhong Museum, and the intimate translations in Chinese, English, and Thai allow us to know this legend without any obstacles.
Unlike the Golden Buddha Temple, which can be seen at a glance, Longlian Temple is hidden in the middle of Chinatown. Finding it requires some patience. Longlian Temple is the first Huazong temple in Bangkok, established in 1871. The entire temple occupies a small area. Taking the center line as the axis, there are four heavenly king halls, the Daxiong hall, and the patriarch hall in sequence. . Because of the great effectiveness of “turning Tai Sui”, many members of the Thai royal family and political leaders at that time would come here to pray here from time to time.
To the northwest of the block is Sutai Temple, the final stop of this temple roaming tour. Sutai Temple was built in Rama I (1807) and was not completed until Rama III (1847). As a first-class royal temple in Thailand, it is one of the oldest temples in Bangkok. Strictly speaking, Wat Suthat is not in the Chinatown area, but precisely because it is separated from the main tourist area of the Grand Palace and the bustling center of Chinatown, it has become the quietest temple in downtown Bangkok. In the temple, strong traces of Chinese architecture can be seen everywhere, from stone towers, stone statues, to familiar Chinese historical figures, which are rare in traditional temples in Thailand.
Another symbolic building in the block is Taijing Tianhua Charity Hospital. Its rudimentary form was Tianhua Hospital during the reign of King Rama V, which was jointly established by wealthy Chinese businessmen at that time to provide free medical assistance to poor compatriots. In order to better communicate with patients, the hospital has even hired doctors who can speak various Chinese dialects. The sincere heart of doctors makes it a warm presence in the Chinese world in Bangkok.
Three
Chaoshan dialect can be used freely here
“Temples, gold shops, and gourmet food” are the three elements of Chinatown that people can almost blurt out. Huge gold store signs and bold gold chains are “standard equipment” not only in Bangkok, but also in many Chinatowns abroad. In movie episodes, gold jewelry usually represents arrogance, but for those Chinese who have been wandering abroad all year round, the meaning behind it is not so superficial.
“Darling, your courier will be here soon”, fast logistics and transportation is almost a fantasy for those who set foot in a foreign land to make a living a hundred years ago. At that time, most of the Chinese in Thailand sent half of the money they earned back home every month, and saved the rest as much as possible except for daily expenses, and took it home with them when they returned home. As a large amount of cash is inconvenient to carry, gold and silver to preserve value have become a better choice. Gold shops in Chinatown came into being and became one of the most prosperous industries in the area.
For friends from Guangdong and Hainan, there is almost no language pressure when walking in Chinatown. The earliest seaports for trade with Thailand were concentrated in Zhanglin Port in Chaozhou, so the early Chinese who went to Thailand were mostly Cantonese. So in Bangkok, you can hear many pronunciations similar to Teochew in Thai.
The integration of Chaozhou dialect and Thai language is closely related to the reign of King Zheng Xin in the Thonburi period. As a descendant of Chaozhou people, King Zheng Xin had many Chaozhou people under his command. These people played an extremely important role in the recuperation of the follow-up country, so that Chaozhou dialect became a common language in the government and business at that time. Teochew people were also the main force in the subsequent immigration wave. According to statistics, Teochew people account for almost 70% of the overseas Chinese in Thailand.
The food in Chinatown is well-known, and the foundation is the taste of hometown that immigrants from all over the world love. Chinese and overseas Chinese give Chinatown food inspiration, apart from shark fin and bird’s nest, which has been gradually relegated to the second line, the first ones are of course the ancient flavors of Chaoshan, Hainan and other places. Traditional kway teow, fish ball soup, braised goose, etc., you can find all the old-school street food you can think of. Most of the shops where these flavors belong are inherited from the owner or the chef’s family. They are hidden in the “front shop and back” arcade, which makes it difficult for you to find them at a glance from the numerous big signs, but if you slow down, passing by those with traces of time When choosing one of the signboards, you can choose one at random to enter, and what you taste on the tip of your tongue may be the long-lost taste.
Although the tourism function of Chinatown today has gradually replaced the traditional business gathering function, there are still some residents who just need the business format to be retained. For example, grocery stores, if you want to cook Chinese food, seasonings, dry goods, snacks, almost all your needs can be met in the store. Chinatown has also introduced more elements that young people love, and many creative coffee shops and specialty restaurants have settled in one after another. For those who want to check out Michelin restaurants, if you don’t mind queuing, your choice will not be limited to one star. Jay Fai, Guay Jub Ouan Pochana, Nai Ek Roll Noodles, Khao Phad Pu Chang Phueak, etc. that are “recommended by Bib Gourmand” can all be included in the gourmet plan.
After six o’clock in the afternoon, the heat subsides, and it’s time for various barbecue stalls in Chinatown to open their stalls. The main people who are keen to spend here are still the local Chinese in Bangkok, and the tourists who walk through it have become a small group of customers. After all, the food here may not be the best, but for the wanderers who have been in foreign countries for a long time, it is definitely a rare gluttonous feast.
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