One of the World’s Largest Chinatowns Is Evolving Without Forgetting Its Past
The pandemic accelerated change in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Now, it is on a quest to redefine its identity.
Few neighborhoods in Bangkok have managed to keep their souls like Chinatown, with its lit-up shop signs, street food carts, centuries-old shophouses and temples. Smoke from frying pans and incense sticks fills the air, while chatter from vendors and visitors compete with the sounds of moving traffic.
It is one of the largest Chinatowns anywhere, founded at the same time as the Thai capital itself more than 200 years ago. As the country with the world’s biggest overseas ethnic Chinese community — nearly 15% of Thailand’s 69 million people are considered ethnically Chinese — it’s an important focal point for culture and trade. It is also rapidly changing.