Soi Sun Yat Sen – the legacy of a revolutionary

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Soi Sun Yat Sen
the legacy of a revolutionary

Soi Sun Yat Sen is a little lane off Ratchawong Road in Chinatown Bangkok or Yaowarat. Originally known as Soi Phalittaphon, this was where Dr Sun Yat Sen visited when he came to Bangkok in 1910.

Dr Sun Yat Sen was on a tour of South East Asian countries to raise funds from the overseas Chinese for the Chinese Revolution. He convinced several Chinese businessmen to put up their assets as collateral with an English bank to raise the loans.

The archway leading to the soi

Some of these assets included three rice mills in Bangkok. It's not known if the English bank managed to recover the loans.

On 22 Jan 2004, during the Chinese New Year, Chinatown Bangkok celebrated its 222nd anniversary with a two-day festival. The residents organized a grand celebration to commemorate the occasion and also the 72nd birthday of Her Majesty the Queen in August.

The ceremony was graced by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirikorn. On this grand occasion, Soi Phalittaphon was renamed Soi Sun Yat Sen to honour the father of the Chinese Revolution in 1911 and also the contributions of the Thai Chinese community.

Soi Phalittaphon - the Thai name

Visitors to Soi Sun Yat Sen can identify the soi some 50 m on the left after turning into Ratchawong Road. There's a huge archway with the name of the soi written in Thai and Chinese (Chung Shan Road) to mark Dr Sun Yat Sen's visit to the area.

Chung Shan Road - the Chinese name

The soi itself is a narrow lane barely passable to a single vehicle. It's crammed with shops and stalls on either side selling a wide variety of goods.

Shopping in the soi

Chinese temple

The easiest way to get there is by boat alighting at the Ratchawong Pier at the end of Ratchawong Road. If you are going by boat, after getting off the pier, walk straight along Ratchawong Road for about 400 m. The soi is on your right.

Today, Soi Sun Yat Sen is a hustle and bustle of daily commerce. The grand archway over the entrance to the soi is the only reminder of the legacy of Dr Sun Yat Sen.

Other historical routes through old shopping alleys in Chinatown Bangkok packed with street markets can be found in Chinatown Bangkok sights Soi Sampheng and Walking Street Chinatown Bangkok.

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