Baan Chinpracha House In Phuket Town

By Paula Parker

Cultural Attractions in Phuket

Chinpracha House is one of Phuket’s cultural attractions and an attraction that many visitors to the island may never think to visit.

During our last trip we took some time away from the beaches and explored the streets of Old Phuket Town.

There are many interesting sights to see including the decorative Chinese Temples, Chinese shop houses and the beautifully designed Sino-Portuguese mansions.

A good example of Sino-Portuguese styled homes is Chinpracha House; a stately mansion located on Krabi Road.

The house is also known Baan Chinpracha and was constructed in 1903 by Prapitak Chinpracha.

The current owners are sixth generation descendants of the original owner, who today still live in the mansion.

Although Baan Chinpracha is occupied, the owner has opened up certain areas of the house to the public, in fact the entire ground floor area of the home.

The only areas of Baan Chinpracha that are not open to the public are the rooms on the second floor.

Baan Chinpracha is decorated with the original Italian floor tiles that were imported from Europe and furniture that belonged to the original owners, most of which was imported from China.

The main room in the house is the picture shown at the top of the page; this room is rather large and is centred around an inner courtyard which features a beautiful fishpond that is decorated with fresh flowers.

The fishpond was once the original well, which provided water to the house.

The other rooms you are able to wonder through on the ground floor include two bedrooms; and a large kitchen where you can see traditional stoves, and an array of brass and clay cooking pots, pans and utensils.

As you walk through Baan Chinpracha you will notice the walls are lined with old family photos, antiques and memorabilia from years gone by.

Baan Chinpracha has also been used for a couple of movie’s, including the most recent, "Heaven & Earth".

If you are interested in spending a bit of time at Baan Chinpracha mansion, I would recommend that you do as we did, and combine it with a tour of Old Phuket Town.

Tours of Phuket Town and Chinpracha House can be arranged through Easy Day Thailand.

To really understand the history of the building you will need a guided tour by a local who has knowledge about Phuket's history and culture who can explain in detail the history of the house which impart acts as a museum.

How to get to Chinpracha House

Chinpracha House is located at 98 Krabi Road, next door to another stately mansion, the Blue Elephant Restaurant, which by the way is also worth visiting for dinner.

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