250px, Yaowarat Road near Chaloem Buri Intersection. 250px, Daytime of Yaowarat Road. 250px, Entrance 1 of Wat Mangkon MRT Station adjacent to the entrance of Plaeng Nam Road. Samphanthawong ( th, สัมพันธวงศ์, ) is one of the three '' khwaeng'' (subdistrict) of

Samphanthawong district Samphanthawong ( th, สัมพันธวงศ์, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Regarded as Bangkok's Chinatown, it is the smallest district in area but has the highest population density of Bangkok's districts. ...

, Bangkok, regarded as the main area of the district.

History

After the King

Rama I Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now T ...

established Rattanakosin (now Bangkok) as the new capital of

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

(now Thailand) on the right bank of Chao Phraya River in 1782. He allowed overseas Chinese who living around the Grand Palace to move to live in a new place far from the downtown at that time southeastward next to the Chao Phraya River known as "

Sampheng Sampheng ( th, สำเพ็ง, ) is a historic neighbourhood and market in Bangkok's Chinatown, in Samphanthawong District. It was settled during the establishment of Bangkok in 1782 by Teochew Chinese, and eventually grew into the surroundi ...

", resulting in being a Chinatown and active commercial district from that time onwards. Its name "Samphanthawong" after the local

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Wat Samphanthawong. It dates from the Ayutthaya period and was known as Wat Ko (วัดเกาะ; lit: "island temple") due to its location surrounded by water. It was renovated by entirely by King Rama I and the name was changed to Wat Ko Kaew Langkaram (วัดเกาะแก้วลังการาม). In the reign of King

Rama IV Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

the name was again changed to what it is called today in honour to Prince Khrom Luang Phitak Montri, a nephew of King Rama I, who was the leader of the temple restoration. The land near this temple was also the first lodging in Siam of

Dan Beach Bradley Dan Beach Bradley (18 July 1804 – 23 June 1873) was an American Protestant missionary to Siam from 1835 until his death. He is credited with numerous firsts, including, bringing the first Thai-script printing press to Siam, publishing the first ...

, an American Protestant missionary, who also came to evangelize during the reigns of 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 u ...

and King Rama IV.

Yaowarat Road Yaowarat Road ( th, ถนนเยาวราช, ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading ...

, which is regarded as the main artery of the district, was built in 1892 during 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� ...

in order to expand traffic routes and habitats for the people of Bangkok continuing from Charoen Krung Road In 1915, corresponding to the reign of King

Rama VI Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

. Samphanthawong was an '' amphoe'' (district) of Phra Nakhon province, same as neighbouring Sam Yaek, Sampheng, and

Chakkrawat 250px, '' Prang'' (pagoda in Khmer-style) of Wat Chakkrawat, the origin of the area's name. Chakkrawat ( th, จักรวรรดิ, ) is a '' khwaeng'' (subdistrict) of Samphanthawong district, Bangkok. History In the year 1915, correspon ...

. Later in 1931, during the reign of King

Rama VII Prajadhipok ( th, ประชาธิปก, RTGS: ''Prachathipok'', 8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941), also Rama VII, was the seventh monarch of Siam of the Chakri dynasty. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and ...

. When economic downturn, the Siamese government therefore has to save the nation's budget. Therefore, had to merge the Chakkrawat and Sampeng together with Samphanthawong since then. Until the year 1973,

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governm ...

(BMA) was officially established. Samphanthawong therefore changed the status to a full district and subdistrict until now. Samphanthawong is the smallest district of Bangkok, with a total area of only 1.4 km² (0.5 sq mi).

Geography

Neighbouring subdistricts are (from north clockwise):

Ban Bat Ban Bat ( th, บ้านบาตร, , ; also spelled Banbatt) is one of the five sub-districts ('' khwaeng'') in the Pom Prap Sattru Phai District of Bangkok of Thailand. It has an area of . Some parts of the northern area are on the Khlong ...

and

Pom Prap Pom Prap ( th, ป้อมปราบ, ) is one of five ''khwaengs'' (subdistricts) of Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, Bangkok. In February 2019 it had a total population of 15,440 people (7,444 men, 7,956 women). The majority of the population c ...

Pom Prap Sattru Phai District Pom Prap Sattru Phai ( th, ป้อมปราบศัตรูพ่าย, , or popularly just called Pom Prap, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Dusit, Pathum Wan, ...

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 ...

in its district, Khlong San of Khlong San District (across Chao Phraya River), and Chakkrawat in its district. Samphanthawong regarded as the central part of the district.

Demography

In 2017 it had a total population of 8,890 people (4,310 men, 4,580 women) in 4,415 households.

Places

Odeon Circle Odeon Circle and Chinese gate., 300px Odeon Circle or Wongwian Odeon ( th, วงเวียนโอเดียน, ; zh, 崇聖牌樓; pinyin: ''Chóng shèng páilóu'') is a roundabout in Bangkok. It is the intersection of Yaowarat, Charoen ...

Wat Pathum Khongkha Wat Pathum Khongkha Ratchaworawihan, or simple known as Wat Pathum Khongkha ( th, วัดปทุมคงคาราชวรวิหาร, วัดปทุมคงคา) is a second class royal temple in the Talat Noi area of Bangko ...

(Wat Sampheng) *Wat Samphanthawong (Wat Ko) *

Thian Fah Foundation Hospital Thian Fah Foundation Hospital, shortened to Thian Fah Foundation ( th, โรงพยาบาลเทียนฟ้ามูลนิธิ, เทียนฟ้ามูลนิธิ; traditional Chinese: 天華醫院; simplified Chinese: � ...

(Guanyin Shrine) and Samitivej Chinatown Hospital * Chaloem Buri Intersection *Yaowarat Road * Plaeng Nam Road * Phadung Dao Road (Trok Texas) * Woeng Nakhon Khasem (Thieves' Market) *

Wat Mangkon MRT Station Wat Mangkon station ( th, สถานีวัดมังกร, ) is a Bangkok MRT rapid transit station on the Blue Line, regarded as one of four most beautiful MRT stations (consisted of Itsaraphap station, Sanam Chai station, Sam Yot stat ...

(BL29) * Wat Bamphen Chin Phrot (Yong Hok Yi) * Leng Buai Ia Shrine * Khlong Thom *Soi Wanit 1 (Sampheng)

References

{{Coord, 13, 44, 13.9, N, 100, 30, 46.7, E, region:TH_type:landmark, display=title Samphanthawong district Subdistricts of Bangkok Populated places on the Chao Phraya River