Sampheng (Chinatown), Bangkok

Sampheng, also called Samphanthawong district, is the Chinatown of Bangkok. It was here that the Chinese merchants and traders settled after their original settlement at Phra Nakhon district at the bend of the Chao Phraya River was taken over by King Rama I, to create the Rattanakosin district in which the king constructed the Grand Palace. Today, two hundred years after they settled at Samphanthawong, Chinatown continues to have a distinctly Chinese feel to it.

When the Chinese arrived in Samphanthawong, there were few roads. One of them was Sampheng Road, which today is known as Wanit I Road. It was the main road in Sampheng until the construction of Yaowarat Road in 1892.

For a Chinatown experience, walk along Thanon Yaowarat and Soi Issaranuphap. Within the Chinatown of Bangkok, like many other Chinatowns in other cities of the world, one can find medicine shops, gold merchants and sidewalk stalls punctuated by the occasional Chinese temple. At the east end of Chinatown, near the Thien Fah Foundation, is a Chinese Gate erected to commemorate King Bhumibol's 72nd birthday. It is often called Odean Gate, after the Odean theatre that used to stand nearby. The Hualamphong Railway Station forms the east end of Chinatown while the Indian community of Pahurat is immediately to the west.

An old house on Charoen Krung Road, at the junction with Khao Lam Road, in the Bangkok Chinatown (29 August, 2006)

Yaowarat Road

Yaowarat Road is today regarded as the high street of Chinatown. Until it was built in 1892, the main road in Chinatown was Sampheng Road, which today is called Soi Wanit 1 (Wanit 1 Lane). Yaowarat Road extends for about 1.5 kilometers, and both sides are bustling with shops selling a variety of Chinese merchadise.

Chinatown Gate

Chinatown Gate is an archway, often called Odean Gate, which was erected to commemorate the 72th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Getting there

Take the MRT to Hualamphong Railway Station, which is the western gateway into Chinatown. You can also go there by boat, alighting at the Ratchawong Cross Ferry Pier and then walking Ratchawong Road that takes you to the centre of Chinatown.

Nearby Sights

List of Neighbourhoods in Bangkok; list of Districts of Bangkok

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap