The Wanglee family ( th, หวั่งหลี, from zh, 黌利) is a Thai family of
Teochew Chinese descent
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...
. The family traces its origins to Tan Tsue Huang (, 1841–1920), of the Tan clan (陳, ''
Chen'' in Mandarin), who arrived in Siam during the reign of King
Mongkut
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 Ramathibod ...
(Rama IV, 1851–1868) and established a successful business during the second half of the nineteenth century. He used overseas family networks to maintain trade routes with
Canton, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saigon, and later expanded into rice milling and insurance. Tan settled in Bangkok in 1871 and married a daughter of the
Poshyananda family. His second son, Tan Lip Buay, inherited the business, which became one of Siam's largest rice millers and exporters by 1920.
Today, the family's
Wanglee House
The Wanglee House ( th, บ้านหวั่งหลี) is a historic building in the Thai capital Bangkok. It sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, in Khlong San District. The house was built in 1881 for Tan Siew-Wang, an influe ...
is recognized as an award-winning historic building. The former port next door, which used to serve the family business, was renovated and opened as the cultural attraction
Lhong 1919
Lhong 1919 ( th, ล้ง 1919; zh, 廊 1919) is a tourist attraction on the west bank of Chao Phraya River on Bangkok's Thonburi side. Its concept is similar to that of the Asiatique The Riverfront on the Phra Nakhon side. It is at the bottom ...
in 2017.
References
Thai Chinese families
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