Asiatique: The Riverfront is a large open-air mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It occupies the former docks of the East Asiatic Company, and faces the Chao Phraya River and Charoen Krung Road. The complex opened in 2012 after extensive renovation of the site. [1]
The Denmark-based East Asiatic Company was founded in 1897 and was one of several Western firms conducting trade with Siam at the time. The company owned port facilities on the Chao Phraya, which included several warehouses, the oldest extant building dating from 1907. The port ceased operations in 1947, and the facilities later fell into disuse. In May 2011, real estate company TCC Land announced its plans to renovate and develop the site into a retail/entertainment complex to be known as Asiatique The Riverfront. [2] [1]
Since 2019, Asiatique has been managed by Asset World Corporation (AWC). In October 2021, AWC Chief Executive Officer Wallapa Traisorat announced a redevelopment plan which will include a super-tall skyscraper expected to be completed within nine years. [3]
Asiatique is located on Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok's Bang Kho Laem District, facing the Chao Phraya River. It occupies 30 rai (4.8 hectares (12 acres)) of land, with plans for future expansion to include a total of 72 rai (11.52 hectares (28.5 acres)) of mixed-use development. The mall, featuring a historical theme from the period of King Chulalongkorn's reign (1868–1910), operates as an open-air night market. It features 1,500 shops and stalls and 40 restaurants, most of which are housed in the former warehouses. Other historical buildings and objects include an old sawmill and a World War II bomb shelter. There is a parking lot tram designed to look like a car from Bangkok's former tram system, and the site is decorated with bronze statues representing maritime activity. [4] [5]
The mall's layout is divided into four thematic sections, called districts. Chareonkrung[ sic ] District is named after Charoen Krung Road, and contains performing venues for the Joe Louis Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre, the Calypso Cabaret show and live Muay Thai performances, as well as shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. Town Square District features foreign restaurants and sports bars, and includes a small event space. Factory District focuses on trendy fashions, products and restaurants. Waterfront District lies along Asiatique's waterfront promenade—claimed to be Bangkok's longest at 300 metres (980 ft)—and includes several riverside restaurants, a large event space used for concerts, festivals and New Year celebrations, and Asiatique Sky, the tallest Ferris wheel in Bangkok at 60 metres (200 ft). [6] [7]
Asiatique opened on 27 April 2012, and has been observed to fulfil a replacement role for the previously popular Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which had closed down in 2010. [8] Access is by road (with a parking capacity of 2,000 cars) or by boat, with shuttle services from Sathon Pier. [9] It is managed by Riverside Masterplan Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of TCC Land.
Sirimahannop heritage ship is a replica of the ship Thoon Kramom , which was a merchant barque captained by East Asiatic Company founder Hans Niels Andersen. The three-mast tall ship dominates the sky line of the Asiatique. It serves as a fine dining restaurant, along with a display of old photographs, charts, diagrams and models. [1] [10]
Bang Rak is one of the fifty districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It lies on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, beyond Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, which marked the old city boundary. Originating from riverside settlements dating from before the city's foundation, Bang Rak grew inland as new roads and canals were constructed through the area during the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth, attracting communities of expatriates and developing into a major commercial district. Bangkok's rapid economic growth in the late twentieth century saw the areas along Si Lom and Sathon roads transformed into one of the city's main business districts, teeming with skyscrapers. The district, officially recognised at least since 1908, covers an area of 5.54 square kilometres (2.14 sq mi), and has a registered population of 48,227. Today, Bang Rak is known for the financial activity of its commercial offices, as well as its vibrant nightlife scenes. Diverse historic and religious sites, most significantly concentrated in Bang Rak Subdistrict on the waterfront, reflect the district's multicultural history.
Phra Nakhon is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the central district of Bangkok, including Rattanakosin Island. Neighboring districts are, from the north, clockwise: Dusit, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Samphanthawong, and across the Chao Phraya River, Thon Buri, Bangkok Yai, Bangkok Noi, and Bang Phlat.
Samphanthawong ; Chinese: 三攀他旺县) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Regarded as Bangkok's Chinatown, it is the smallest district by area in Thailand. Neighboring districts are Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bang Rak, Khlong San, and Phra Nakhon.
Yaowarat Road in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community since they moved from their old site some 200 years ago to make way for the construction of Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace. Nearby is the Phahurat or Little India. The area is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the south. Yaowarat Road is well known for its variety of foodstuffs, and at night turns into a large "food street" that draws tourists and locals from all over the city.
Bang Kho Laem is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. The incumbent district officer is Samita Xanthavanij. The district is bounded by Sathon, Yannawa, and across the Chao Phraya River, Rat Burana, Thon Buri and Khlong San districts.
Charoen Krung Road is a major road in Bangkok and the first in Thailand to be built using modern construction methods. Built during 1862–1864 in the reign of King Mongkut, it runs from the old city centre in Rattanakosin Island, passes through Bangkok's Chinatown, continues into Bang Rak district, where it formerly served the community of European expatriates, and ends in Bang Kho Laem. Construction of the road marked a major change in Bangkok's urban development, with the major mode of transport shifting from water to land. Charoen Krung Road was Bangkok's main street up to the early 20th century, but later declined in prominence. It is still home to many historic buildings and neighbourhoods, which are beset by changes as extension of the underground MRT is poised to drive new development.
Pak Khlong Talat is a market in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand, that sells flowers, fruits, and vegetables. It is the primary flower market of Bangkok and has been cited as a "place of symbolic value" to Bangkok residents. It is on Chak Phet Road and adjacent side-streets, close to Memorial Bridge. Though the market is open 24 hours, it is busiest before dawn, when boats and trucks arrive with flowers from nearby provinces. Its location by Chao Phraya River near the southern end of Khlong Lot, hence the name 'Pak Khlong Talat', literally means "the market on the mouth of the canal".
Bangkok, Thailand, has an extensive water transport system serving passengers crossing or travelling along the Chao Phraya River as well as certain canals.
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is one of the world's top tourist destination cities. Each year, approximately 22.7 million international visitors arrive in Bangkok. MasterCard ranked Bangkok as the world's top destination city, with 15.98 million projected visitors in 2013. It topped the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index as the most visited city in the world in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The city is ranked fourth in cross-border spending, with 14.3 billion dollars projected for 2013, after New York, London and Paris. Euromonitor International ranked Bangkok sixth in its Top City Destinations Ranking for 2011. Bangkok has also been named "World's Best City" by Travel + Leisure magazine's survey of its readers for four consecutive years since 2010.
Bangkok's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. It was founded in 1782 when the city was established as the capital of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and served as the home of the mainly Teochew immigrant Chinese population, who soon became the city's dominant ethnic group. Originally centred around Sampheng, the core of Chinatown now lies along Yaowarat Road, which serves as its main artery and sometimes lends its name to the entire area, which is often referred to as Yaowarat. Chinatown's entire area roughly coincides with Samphanthawong District, and includes neighbourhoods such as Song Wat and Talat Noi along the Chao Phraya River, and Charoen Chai, Khlong Thom and Nakhon Khasem along Charoen Krung Road.
Captain Bush Lane, now officially known as Soi Charoen Krung 30, is a side-street branching off Charoen Krung Road in Bang Rak District of Bangkok, Thailand. It was home to several members of Bangkok's early European expatriate community during the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, including Captain John Bush, an influential English sea captain after whom the street is named.
Iconsiam, stylized as ICONSIAM, and ICS is a mixed-use development on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. It includes a large shopping mall, which opened to the public on 9 November 2018, as well as hotels and residences. The ฿54 billion project was jointly developed by Siam Piwat group, a Thai retail developer, MQDC Magnolia Quality Development, and Charoen Pokphand Group. The complex includes the tallest building in Thailand: the 70-floor Magnolia Waterfront Residences, and the country’s sixth tallest building: the 52-floor Mandarin Oriental Residences.
Ratchawong Road is a road in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the area of Bangkok's Chinatown, or popularly known in Thai as Yaowarat.
Chan Road, also known as Trok Chan, is a road and neighbourhood in Bangkok. It's a separate from Nang Linchi road in the area of Thung Maha Mek sub-district, Sathon district and runs through Chan - Naradhiwas intersection where it cuts across Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra road. In this phase, it also acts as a line between Sathon district's Thung Wat Don and Yan Nawa district's Chong Nonsi sub-district, then through two more intersections were Tai Duan Chan junction and Sathu - Chan junction as far as end at Trok Chan junction, where it combined with Charoen Krung road in the area of Wat Phraya Krai sub-district, Bang Kho Laem district, total distance is 7.0 km. At the end of the road on Charoen Krung side is close to two historic sites are Asiatique The Riverfront, originally, it was the location of the Danish maritime navigation company East Asiatic Company and Protestant Cemetery, include another place of education is Shrewsbury International School.
Wat Phraya Krai is one of three khwaeng (sub-district) of Bang Kho Laem district, Bangkok. It has a total area of 2.300 km2 west side along Chao Phraya river and in late 2017, it had a total population of 26,681 people.
The East Asiatic Building is a historic building in Bangkok's Bang Rak District. It sits on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite the Oriental Hotel on Soi Charoen Krung 40 and adjacent to the Catholic Mission and Assumption Cathedral. The building was built c. 1900 in Renaissance Revival style to designs by Annibale Rigotti, and served as the headquarters of the East Asiatic Company (Thailand) until 1995, receiving the ASA Architectural Conservation Award in 1984. In 2023, Asset World Corporation announced plans to renovate the building into a hotel under the Plaza Athénée brand, in partnership with Nobu Hospitality.
Banthat Thong Road is a street in Bangkok. It runs 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) from its junction with Rama IV Road at Saphan Lueang Intersection, through Pathum Wan and Ratchathewi districts, north to Phet Phra Ram Intersection, where it meets Phetchaburi Road. It crosses Rama I Road at Charoen Phon Intersection, near the National Stadium, and the area is home to a large number of sporting goods shops. The southern section of the road runs parallel to the canal Khlong Suan Luang, which also gives its name to the neighbourhood. The area's land is owned by Chulalongkorn University, whose Office of Property Management (PMCU) redeveloped most of the neighbourhood in the 2010s.
Bang Rak is a khwaeng (subdistrict) and historic neighbourhood in Bangkok's Bang Rak District. It lies between the Chao Phraya River and Charoen Krung Road, and was home to communities of European expatriates who settled in the area mostly during the second half of the 19th century as Siam opened up to the West. Among them were the Portuguese, French and British, whose embassies occupied extensive grounds in the area, Danes who founded shipping companies as well as the historic Oriental Hotel, and Catholic missionaries who established some of the first schools in the country on the grounds surrounding Assumption Cathedral.
The Embassy of France in Bangkok is the chief diplomatic mission of France in Thailand, and one of the oldest in the country. It was established as a consulate in its current location on the Chao Phraya River off Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok's Bang Rak District in 1857, following the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce which re-established diplomatic relations between the two countries the previous year. The mission was elevated to a legation in 1892 and an embassy in 1949, and supports the ambassador in promoting political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
