Book A Bangkok Hotel & Visit Famous Chinatown

Chinatown in Bangkok, or Yaowarat, was started in 1782, when King Rama I decided to establish the capital on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River. The Chinese immigrants who were originally settled there, in what is now the Grand Palace, had to move out to a strip of land two km down the river.

Over the years the settlement grew. Today, Chinatown in Bangkok or Yaowarat, covers a square bounded by the 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, an area of approximately 2 sq km.

Chinatown Bangkok is the oldest district in Bangkok, with Chinese merchants having moved here in the early 1780's when the city was founded during the Ratanakosin period, almost 300 years ago. You'll still see the old buildings and architecture and you still smell the Chinese tradition all around.

If you are looking for a great selection of street food in Bangkok, bars, restaurants, gold shops, souvenir shops and many other interesting sights and items, including some great Bangkok accommodation, this is definitely the right place! Yaowarat or Chinatown is a street of life. It is a nice way to experience the lifestyle of local Chinese while walking along the street and trying different kinds of food and desserts.

The street is lined with ubiquitous goldsmith shops, shark fin and birds nest restaurants, shops and vendors selling Chinese herbal medicine, dried mushrooms, salted fish, roast meat, Chinese calendars, almanacs and of course, lottery tickets. The avid bargain hunter would have a ball of a time browsing through the shops and stalls.

There are many small alleys, so you never know what you might find. Be prepared for narrow walkways that are also used by motorcyclists rushing around with goods.

If you are coming to Chinatown by road, the most convenient way to start your tour of this Bangkok legacy, is to take the underground to the Hua Lam Phong underground station located on the eastern bank of the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal.

Nearby is the Hua Lam Phong railway station from which trains travel to every part of Thailand.

Across the road from the train station is Traimit Road where the famous Wat Traimit or Temple of the Golden Buddha stands. This Wat houses a 3 m high Buddha image  made of more than 5 tons of gold!

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