The Old Town is an area of historical interest in the city of

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

. The main streets of Old Town are Thalang, Phang Nga, Krabi, Dibuk, and Yoawarat. Old Town is noted for Sino-Portuguese buildings on both sides of the street. Many old buildings have been converted into shops, hotels, restaurants, and museums.

History

Phuket has a rich history as tin-mining country peopled by Siamese,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, Malays, Indians,

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

s, and sea gypsies. A unique community in Phuket are the "Baba", with their own way of life, language, dress, and food. The core of this community was formed by early unions between Hokkien tin-miners and Siamese women. This distinctive Baba heritage can be seen in Phuket's Old Town. Since the 16th century, Europeans have been involved in the

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

trade of Phuket. In the 18th century, much of the island's tin mining was carried out by

Hokkien Chinese The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

who were instrumental in building the old part of the city. In the early-20th century, under Governor Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi, major European mining companies were invited in, and major public infrastructure such as roads and canals was built. Many buildings in Sino-Portuguese style from this period are preserved and restored, particularly the shophouses and the big mansions. No one knows exactly when the first building in this style was constructed, but photographs from the reign of

King Rama V Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

(1853–1910) show that it was already well established by then.

Attractions

References

External links

Best Things to Do in Phuket
{{coord, 7.885714, 98.387558, region:TH_type:landmark, display=title Geography of Phuket province Tourist attractions in Phuket province Historic districts in Thailand