YAOWARAT ROAD

Beschreibung

Essentials about Yaowarat Road in brief

Thanon Yaowarat (Yaowarat Road) is the central street in Bangkok’s Chinatown. The approximately 1.5 kilometer long street begins at the Odeon traffic circle, where the large Chinese gate – the Chinatown Gate – makes it unmistakably clear that one is now entering “Chinese land”. Yaowarat Road ends at Phanuphan Bridge, where the historic center of Bangkok begins. Life pulsates along Yaowarat Road. There is always something going on in the streets, restaurants and stores of Chinatown. Especially visitors who want to shop for gold or go out for Chinese food should definitely make a detour to Chinatown in Bangkok.

Chinatown in Bangkok

A visit to Chinatown should be on your bucket list on a trip to Bangkok. In the pulsating, chaotic, hectic and busy district with its constantly crowded streets and alleys, its many small booths, the Chinese cookshops and the countless garish advertising signs with Chinese characters, one feels directly transported to China.

What many people don’t know is that Thailand has a very large Chinese minority. Of the approximately 70 million inhabitants, about 10 million are of Chinese origin. Accordingly, the Chinese community and its culture is very lively, especially in the capital Bangkok.

The history of Yaowarat Road

Originally, the Chinese community lived on the land where the Grand Palace now stands. Since King Rama I decided to move his residence and the capital to Bangkok at the end of the 18th century, the Chinese were asked to settle further east in what was then an unsettled area just outside the city, now called Sampheng. The incredibly narrow Sampheng Alley (now called Thanon Wanit) was for a long time the main thoroughfare of the Chinese quarter. The alley is so narrow that goods had to be hauled in on their backs. Vehicles had no chance here.

It was not until the end of the 19th century that construction of Yaowarat Road began. During the reign of King Rama VI, the Yaowarat area became the entertainment center of Bangkok. The first six- to nine-story “skyscrapers” with cinemas, hotels, brothels and opium dens were built.

Shopping, eating and drinking on Yaowarat Road

Today, Yaowarat is a thriving business district known primarily for its gold trade. In a multitude of gold stores, Chinese and Thais alike buy and sell jewelry and other items made of the shiny precious metal. So if you are looking for gold in Bangkok, you will find it in Chinatown.

Another good reason to go to Chinatown are the numerous restaurants that offer Chinese and local specialties. In the evening, the time of the cookshops begins. After sunset, many of the mobile stalls open on the roadside and in the winding side streets of Yaowarat Road.