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Tha Tien was once a fairly standard stretch of land of no major significance until a man-made channel was created to allow for a short cut in a bend in the Chao Phraya .

Historical records show that the man-made canal (original waterway) which runs from the mouth of one klong (canal) - Klong Bangkok Noi – to another (Klong Bangkok Ya i) was dug in 1542 during the Ayutthaya era (1350-1767).

The project created a short cut between two stretches of the Chao Phraya River . It grew in width and gained greater importance, its banks subsequently becoming home to several significant landmarks of the Bangkok era.

On the eastern bank you’ll find the Grand Palace , Wat Pho and Thammasat University , while on the West bank you’ll find Wat Arun and Siriraj Hospital .

During the second half of the Ayutthaya era, an area on the eastern bank of the new waterway, and now known as Tha Tien, became an important settlement. Located opposite War Arun, the area was popular with foreign traders from Persia ( Iran ), Europe and mainland China , who stopped off there before sailing up to Ayutthaya .

Following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, King Taksin (of Thon Buri) designated the area as a settlement for Chinese migrants who had headed down river away from the ransacked former capital.

A study jointly conducted by the National Discovery Museum Institute and Silpakorn University reveals that Tha Tien became the center of trade from around the beginning of the settlement of Thon Buri in the late 1760s.

Agricultural produce was transported along the canal from surrounding towns and villages. Rafts were sold along the banks of the canal in front of the Tha Tien neighborhood and this helped turn the area into the biggest floating market during the early history of Bangkok.

The name Tha Tien goes back to the 1850s when a great fire razed the area. Tien means “nothing left on the ground”, or “barren ground”.

A center for trade

Studies of the Tha Tien community conclude that various forms of trading were carried out at the market. Orchard owners, farmers and villagers would take their wares to market by boat and then return. During their return journeys they would buy and sell items to take home with them.

The wholesale business was another popular form of trade in Tha Tien, run specifically by Chinese. This business largely revolved around a “broker” community for goods bought some distance from the capital. Agents distributed the products to small-scale wholesalers and the general population.

The floating market in front of Tha Tien was still based on land during the 1800s. It was established by villagers and traders, who sold their goods from stalls or the floor.

Popular goods traded in Tha Tien included: coconut palm sugar from Samut Sakhon and Samut Songhram; fresh eggs from Samut Sakhon, Suphan Buri, and Chon Buri; preserved eggs (produced by wholesalers); and salt from Samut Sakhon, which wholesalers used to preserve the eggs. Preserved or dried seafood from Chon Buri and other nearby coastal provinces was also widely bought and sold.

By the 1850s, Tha Tien started losing its luster as roads began to intertwine through the city and outlying areas. Most of the trading became land-based and the area went into further decline when municipal authorities created a plan in the 1950s to get rid of stalls deemed unseemly within close proximity of the Grand Palace .

Currently, the only major agricultural trading activities take place at a small market near Tha Tien pier. A few shophouses and stalls sell some products the market is well known for, such as coconut palm sugar and preserved seafood. But many locals and foreign tourists are more familiar with Bangkok ’s central flower and agricultural market at Pak Klong Talad, just a few kilometers to the southeast.

Although its trading glory days are long gone, Tha Tien still attracts people looking for traditional massage and medicines. The area includes Wat Pho, the city’s best known and first school of traditional massage and medicines. Visitors will also find shop houses offering traditional massage services, and/or herbal and traditional medicines.

The municipal authorities have considered and made plans for restoration work in the area since the condition of its buildings is deteriorating. The idea is to turn the area into a public park. People living in the community, in a bid to preserve their ways of life, are trying their best to lend a hand and donate funds to renovate the area’s commercial buildings.

Many of the buildings were built in early 20^th-century European architectural styles and they are being renovated in line with preservation plans designed by architects from academia.

The plan is part of a proposed agreement between residents and the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) in a bid to keep their communities alive.

Academics, preservationists and original residents are hoping there is some way to preserve the Tha Tien community as it serves as an important reminder of life during the early Bangkok era.