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Chinatown Gate
Name of a
Thai-Chinese Cultural Arch built on the Odeon Circle
in
Bangkok's
Chinatown,
which is a roundabout named after
the Odeon movie theatre
that in the past was located here, which however is nowadays
nicknamed
Dragon
Head, as it is considered the proverbial entrance into Chinatown due
to its location at the eastern end of
Yaowaraht
Road, which is nicknamed Dragon Road. The gate was built in 1999 AD,
in order to commemorate
King
Bhumipon Adunyadet's
Sixth
Birthday Cycle at the age of 72, and of which the anniversary logo (fig.)
is placed on the gate's roof, flanked by two dragons, akin to those
often seen on Chinese-style rooftops with a
flaming pearl
in the centre (fig.).
The gate's roof is in the
keng-style,
i.e. with
upward curved corners,
complete with
Chinese Imperial roof decorations
(fig.),
and supported by
dougong
(fig.).
A large plaque on the front side has a text in Chinese characters
that reads from right to left: Shengshou Wujiang (圣寿无疆), which
translates King
Without Borders,
or Sage
with Limitless Long Life.
In front of the gate stands a marble statue of a
rabbit,
the fourth
animal in the cycle of the traditional
Chinese Zodiac
(fig.),
and which corresponds to the year in which this monarch was born.
It was officially
unveiled on 5 December 1999, the King's birthday, in a ceremony
presided over by Princess
Sirinthon
(fig.),
the
second daughter and third child to King
Bhumipon and Queen
Sirikit.
On its ceiling
is a bronze plaque with the Chinese character
Tian,
which stands for
Heaven,
whilst exactly underneath it on the floor is a similar bronze
plaque with the Chinese character Di, which means
Earth. Visitors to
Yaowaraht
Road
may come here to pay respect by making a
wai
gesture to the sky, the earth and towards the four cardinal directions,
reminiscent of a northern-style
kreuang thao thang sih
ceremony,
while standing and rotating on the bronze plaque in order to receive
Qi.
The gate is flanked by two
Imperial Guardian Lions
that were donated by
China on the occasion of the Kings
80th anniversary in 2007. In Thai, the gate is known as
Sum Pratu Watthanatham Thai-Jihn.
See TRAVEL PICTURES (1) and
(2), as well as
EXPLORER'S MAP.
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