the Chinese Cemetery
This series is ongoing, as it's from a spot that I visit on the reg. These images are from 2015 to the present.
The Tio Chew Chinese Cemetery is located in Yan Nawa district, Bangkok, and happens to be in the neighborhood I've lived in for the past 7 years, off of the bustling Soi Chan. It's on old cemetery which also functions as an exercise park with fitness gym, as well as a sort of senior center for older folks to gather and sing karaoke, drink tea, and have a chat with old friends. It's located in an area of the city with heavy Chinese roots, with Chinese-Thai families making up much of the local demographic of Yan Nawa. However, located on the same street as the Chinese-Buddhist cemetery with adjoining temple are both a mosque and hindu temple, only meters apart. This is one of my favorite aspects of Bangkok, the diversity of society which brings so much social luminance to the city. Also, the fact that communities such as this hold people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds, and everyone gets along and lives peacefully.
Many of the people interred here are members of the affluent Chinese-Thai families that, in essence, run the country today. There are views from the cemetery of the glitzy high-rise office towers and condos of Sathorn road, some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Some of the people that rest here were no doubt members of the generations of Chinese immigrants that came to Thailand in different waves, working hard and building businesses for their families, and contributing to the growth and globalization of the Thai economy in turn.
Some of the older graves are not very maintained, with dense overgrowth covering the above-ground tombs, a reminder that though we are in the middle of a large city, this is still a jungle as far as nature is concerned.
I visit here regularly to walk around, shoot photos, and occasionally partake in some karaoke or badminton with the cool older folks. I often wonder, as I see the local elderly exercising amongst the final resting places of relatives, in the site where they will likely be buried one day, if they find it a bit comforting to be amongst relatives? Also, does it inspire them to exercise harder so that they don't end up here sooner rather than later? These questions are pretty personal, so I doubt I'll ever ask, but I'll always wonder.
Read MoreThe Tio Chew Chinese Cemetery is located in Yan Nawa district, Bangkok, and happens to be in the neighborhood I've lived in for the past 7 years, off of the bustling Soi Chan. It's on old cemetery which also functions as an exercise park with fitness gym, as well as a sort of senior center for older folks to gather and sing karaoke, drink tea, and have a chat with old friends. It's located in an area of the city with heavy Chinese roots, with Chinese-Thai families making up much of the local demographic of Yan Nawa. However, located on the same street as the Chinese-Buddhist cemetery with adjoining temple are both a mosque and hindu temple, only meters apart. This is one of my favorite aspects of Bangkok, the diversity of society which brings so much social luminance to the city. Also, the fact that communities such as this hold people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds, and everyone gets along and lives peacefully.
Many of the people interred here are members of the affluent Chinese-Thai families that, in essence, run the country today. There are views from the cemetery of the glitzy high-rise office towers and condos of Sathorn road, some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Some of the people that rest here were no doubt members of the generations of Chinese immigrants that came to Thailand in different waves, working hard and building businesses for their families, and contributing to the growth and globalization of the Thai economy in turn.
Some of the older graves are not very maintained, with dense overgrowth covering the above-ground tombs, a reminder that though we are in the middle of a large city, this is still a jungle as far as nature is concerned.
I visit here regularly to walk around, shoot photos, and occasionally partake in some karaoke or badminton with the cool older folks. I often wonder, as I see the local elderly exercising amongst the final resting places of relatives, in the site where they will likely be buried one day, if they find it a bit comforting to be amongst relatives? Also, does it inspire them to exercise harder so that they don't end up here sooner rather than later? These questions are pretty personal, so I doubt I'll ever ask, but I'll always wonder.
taken at chinese cemetery, yannawa, bangkok
