The So Heng Tai Mansion ( th, บ้านโซวเฮงไถ่, from zh, 蘇恒泰) is a nineteenth-century

Chinese courtyard house A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...

in the historic neighbourhood of

Talat Noi Talat Noi or Talad Noi ( th, ตลาดน้อย, ) is a historic neighbourhood in Bangkok. It roughly occupies the area of the sub-district of the same name in Samphanthawong District. On the periphery of Bangkok's Chinatown, Talat Noi has b ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. It was built by Phra Aphaiwanit (Chat, of the So ( 蘇) clan, 1813–1849), a

Hokkien 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 in ...

Chinese bird's nest

tax farmer Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...

with ancestry from Fujian who eventually joined the nobility under King

Rama III Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam ...

. His descendants include many prominent Thai businessmen, celebrities and politicians including

Korn Chatikavanij Korn Chatikavanij ( th, กรณ์ จาติกวณิช, , born 19 February 1964 in London) is a Thai Democrat Party (Thailand), Democrat Party politician, best selling author, and former investment banker. From 2008 to 2011, he was Minis ...

. The house has continuously been inhabited by his descendants, including one branch who now form the Poshyachinda family. It is one of the last remaining traditional Chinese houses in Bangkok and claims to be the oldest private residence in the city. A

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

tycoon reportedly offered to buy the residence for 2 billion baht, an offer turned down by the family. Today, it also operates as a diving school, a pool having been built in the courtyard in 2004. The house has at times been opened to the public, especially since 2014 when the Talat Noi area was promoted as a cultural tourism destination. Multiple organizations have offered assistance in its restoration, though lack of government support has largely left maintenance of the house to the family's own expense.

References

{{coord, 13, 44, 01, N, 100, 30, 44, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Bangkok Chinese architecture in Thailand Samphanthawong district 19th-century architecture Unregistered ancient monuments in Bangkok

See also

References