History of Bangkok’s Chinatown from Teochew enclave to red light district and business hub
Thailand’s capital boasts what is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. We examine its growth from the late 1700s to today
Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West.
Thailand, the only Southeast Asian country that was never colonised by any European power, has always been a popular destination for Chinese immigrants, and its capital city of Bangkok boasts what is considered to be one of the biggest Chinatowns in the world.
The first Chinese migrants settled in Siam – the official name of Thailand before 1939 – in the 14th century, working mostly as tin miners and merchants hoping to find fortune overseas.
Pasuk writes in her 2017 book A History of Ayutthaya that, in the 1730s, a French missionary estimated there were some 20,000 Chinese people in Siam. Many of them, it was said, immigrated as single men and started families with local women, which led to a smoother assimilation into Thai society. Some even took up official positions in court.