With Thailand serving as a significant commercial hub for centuries, Chinese merchants played a key role in bridging cultural linkages through marine trade prior to the establishment of diplomatic ties between Thailand and China in 1975. To celebrate the 48th anniversary of this milestone, Life explores Bangkok’s early communities to learn more about our ancestry.
Chinese descendants have preserved their beautiful traditions for generations. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
With the discovery of the Ban Kao civilisation in Kanchanaburi, people may have moved from southern China and settled in Thailand between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, based on a collection of ancient containers and the bones of Mongol people.
They learned how to grow rice in plain fields near rivers and make jewellery out of clam shells and animal fangs. This proves they interacted and…
