Phuket (Phuket)
Phuket is 862 km (535.6 mi) south of Bangkok.
Phuket is one of the oldest cities in Thailand. It was an important port on the west of the Malay Peninsula where Chinese immigrants first landed.
Phuket Old Town is a quarter studded with heritage buildings in ten streets: Klang, Phang Nga, Rassada, Dee Buk, Krabi, Thep Kasattri, Phuket, Yaowarat, Satun, and Soi Rammanee. These older buildings show Phuket town's former prosperity. They were constructed when tin mining was an important industry on the island. Their architectural style is called "Sino-Portuguese", characteristic of which is a single or two-storey building with a narrow front compensated for by considerable depth. The tiles, doors, perforated windows, and other details are all influenced by Chinese and European styles combined. "Phuket Old Town" is a 2.7 km2 area covering a total of 210 rai.
, the Fine Arts Department and the Phuket provincial authorities are preparing a proposal to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Phuket Old Town to be listed as a World Heritage Site.
In 2004 the town was elevated to city status (thesaban nakhon, ).
Map - Phuket (Phuket)
Map
Country - Thailand
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Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, which became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. Ayutthaya reached its peak during the 18th century, until it was destroyed in the Burmese–Siamese War. Taksin quickly reunified the fragmented territory and established the short-lived Thonburi Kingdom. He was succeeded in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty. Throughout the era of Western imperialism in Asia, Siam remained the only nation in the region to avoid colonization by foreign powers, although it was often forced to make territorial, trade and legal concessions in unequal treaties. The Siamese system of government was centralised and transformed into a modern unitary absolute monarchy in the reign of Chulalongkorn. In World War I, Siam sided with the Allies, a political decision made in order to amend the unequal treaties. Following a bloodless revolution in 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy and changed its official name to Thailand, becoming an ally of Japan in World War II. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy's historically influential role in politics. Thailand became a major ally of the United States, and played an anti-communist role in the region as a member of the failed SEATO, but from 1975 sought to improve relations with Communist China and Thailand's neighbours.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
THB | Thai baht | ฿ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
TH | Thai language |