The old part of Phuket Town can be called an open-air museum. The main street of historic Phuket is called Thalang Road. Nearby are the streets of Phang Nga, Krabi, Dibuk and Yowarat. They are formed by buildings built in the Sino-Portuguese style. Many old buildings have been converted into shops, hotels, restaurants and museums.
Phuket Island has long been known for its rich tin deposits. Siamese, Chinese, Malaysians, Indians, Indians, Gypsies and Europeans moved here en masse in search of a better life. The people of Phuket were strikingly different from the Thais in their way of life, language, cuisine and dress. The core of the local community, called "Baba", was formed as a result of intermarriage between Fujian reindeer herders and Siamese women. A peculiar legacy of this ethnicity can be seen in Phuket Old Town.
From the 16th century, Europeans began buying tin in Phuket. In the 18th century, most of the tin mines were concentrated in the hands of Chinese rich people who had migrated to Phuket from Fujian province. They built most of the houses in the old part of town. In the early 20th century, the governor of Phuket invited major European mining companies to the island, which financed the construction of roads and canals. No one knows exactly when the first Sino-Portuguese style building was built, but old photographs taken during the reign of King Rama V (1853-1910) show many of these mansions.
Chinese houses were narrow but long. The narrow part of them faced the street. The ground floor of the structure housed trading shops and mine management offices, while the first floor was occupied by the family of the house owner. Only one shophouse, as they call such mansions in Phuket, is open for tourists to see. It is called Pr Pitak Chinpracha Mansion. This house is located at 98 Krabi Road and belongs to an old woman Khun Daeng, the widow of a descendant of the first owner of the house.
In the old Chinatown, the Philatelic Museum, Tai Hua Museum, ChinaInn and Kopitiam restaurants are worth a visit.
