Charoen Krung Road, Chinatown-Bangkok

© Nancy Chandler's map of Bangkok

Charoen Krung Road was the first major street ever built in Bangkok at the time when there was a Westerner's settlement in Bang Rak district, on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River. At the same time, in the late 1800s, there was also a large Chinese community issued from the growing maritime trade with China. This community spread mostly between Bang Rak and Rattanakosin, the royal Thai district. Today, Chinatown-Bangkok is considered as the largest Chinatown in the world.

A walking tour of Charoen Krung Road in Chinatown

Map of Charoen Krung Road

The one hundred-year old Hua Lamphong station is a good starting point to explore Chinatown. Three major roads run parallel to the Chao Phraya River. Each one offers a different perspective of Chinatown: Thanon Song Wat, Thanon Yaowarat, and Thanon Charoen Krung. But since I have already written on the first two, this article will describe some of the main interesting sights on Thanon Charoen Krunk.

As you start walking on the street from east to west, there are a few interesting old Chinese Tea or Herbal shops. Then, you reach a house row of Chinese funeral shops showing examples of their massive coffins. Contrary to the Thais, who incinerate their dead, most Chinese Taoists bury corpses. On the right sight of the street, a gate between the shops leads to a yard, where Khwong Siew Temple is. Besides its shops, the street offers many other usual attractions: eating stalls, vendors, fruit markets, and also there is one section selling Chinese or Buddhist amulets. The most interesting landmark is the Chinese-Buddhist temple of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, the largest Chinese Buddhist Temple in Bangkok. 

Chinese town house row.

Amulet vendors

Herbal shop

Temple door-knockers

Khwong Siew Temple

Buddhist ceremony at Wat Mangkon  Kamalawat

Chines style building

Apartment buildings

Small street shrine

Street food stall

Interior of a shop

Wat Mangkon Kalamawat roof crest.