Chanthaboon Waterfront Community

Century-old Sino-Vietnamese shophouse street along the river

The narrow street that runs along the west bank of the Chanthaburi River is the most evocative part of the city. It is lined with about three hundred wooden shophouses, mostly from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, built by Chinese and Vietnamese traders. The river was the city's lifeline and these houses had their merchandise unloaded straight from boats at the back door.

Today many of the buildings have been carefully restored. Cafés and galleries occupy some, families still live in others, and the street is quietest in the morning before tourists arrive from Bangkok. A small community heritage centre at house number 69 explains the history. Walk both sides of the river by the wooden footbridges and you have seen the best of Chantaburi.

things to do sight neighbourhood
A story
The waterfront street was the trading heart of Chantaburi from the late nineteenth century until the road bypass killed it in the 1970s. A grass-roots restoration effort starting in 2009 brought the shophouses back from near-collapse — paint, replacement teak shutters, new uses — and the community now wins regional heritage prizes.