Fai Chai, also written as Faichai (, , ), is a

four-way intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections are ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

located in

Ban Chang Lo Ban Chang Lo (, ) is one of five subdistricts (''khwaeng'') and namesake historic neighbourhood in Bangkok Noi District, Bangkok's Thonburi side (west bank of Chao Phraya River). History Its name meaning "Village of Caster", because people in th ...

and Bang Khun Si Subdistricts, Bangkok Noi District,

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ref ...

side. It is the junction of Charan Sanit Wong, Phran Nok and Phran Nok–Phutthamonthon Sai 4 Roads, can be considered as another main intersection of Thonburi side, besides

Tha Phra Tha Phra (, ) is a main road intersection in the Wat Tha Phra Khwaeng, Subdistrict, Khet Bangkok Yai, Bangkok Yai District in Thon Buri side, Krung Thep, Bangkok. The roads that intersect here are Ratchadaphisek Road, Ratchadaphisek (Inner Ring R ...

and Borommaratchachonnani. The boundaries of the junction are considered to be where Phran Nok–Phutthamonthon Sai 4 Road ends, and where Phran Nok Road originate. It is also a location of Fai Chai MRT station. The name is derived from the

Asia-Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies in East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Oceania. It was ...

(part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) from 1941 to 1945 when Bangkok was attacked by the Allied bombers at night, especially Bangkok Noi, because it was the location of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

base and close to many important places, such as

Bangkok Noi railway station The Siriraj Bimuksthan Museum, originally known as the old Thonburi station (, ), built as Bangkok Noi station (, is a Brick Expressionism style building in Siri Rat subdistrict, Bangkok Noi district, Bangkok. It was built as a railway station ...

Siriraj Hospital Siriraj Hospital (; ) is the oldest and largest public hospital in Bangkok, Thailand on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite Thammasat University's Tha Phrachan campus. It is the primary teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine S ...

, Naval Dockyard Department and Royal Grand Palace in Phra Nakhon side, etc. The Thai military units tried to establish defense measures the best way possible by installing

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...

s in different places. These searchlights had to co-ordinate in looking for the aircraft of the Allied. When the targets were spotted, they would be gunned down by the

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

. The artillery of such power must have a caliber of seventy-five millimeters in diameter. Hence, the area where once the searchlights were installed has been known as "Fai Chai" (literally means searchlight) since then. It founded in 1941 from the expansion of Pran Nok Road, during that time, it was only a

T junction A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

. Later in 2015, there was an extension of Phran Nok–Phutthamonthon 4 Road from

Taling Chan District Taling Chan (, ) is one of the Districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from the north, are Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province and Bang Phlat district, Bang Phlat, Bangkok Noi district ...

to alleviate traffic problems, thus making it into a four-way intersection in the present. The area of Fai Chai between early 1960s to late 1980s was the location of the Southern Bus Terminal (currently shifting to Taling Chan), market, Nakornloung Shopping Center and namesake movie theater. Including nearby, Soi Charan Sanit Wong 27 or Soi Buppha Sawan was the center of the many popular ''

luk thung Luk thung (, , ) is a genre of Thai music that emerged after World War II in the Central Thailand, central region of Thailand. The genre was derived from phleng Thai sakon, and developed in the early-20th century. Suphan Buri in particular beca ...

'' (Thai country song) labels. But now these things are not there anymore. Fai Chai tunnel, which is an underpass along Charan Sanit Wong Road direction, took 13 years to complete the construction. The Bt788-million project, which is being carried out by Kamphaeng Phet Wiwat Construction, began in October 2009 during the tenure of Bangkok governor MR

Sukhumbhand Paribatra Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paribatra (; , ; born 22 September 1953) is a Thai politician belonging to the Democrat Party. From 2009 to 2016 he was the Governor of Bangkok. He was removed from the post in October 2016 by Prime Minister Prayu ...

. However, construction progress has been delayed by disputes over its size, design and overlap with the

MRT Blue Line The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok's third rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit line and Silom line of the BTS Skytrain. It is the first line of the MRT (Bangkok), MRT system and is operated by Bangkok Exp ...

’s Bang Sue-

phase. The disputes prompted several revisions of the contract. The tunnel was opened for the first day on August 1, 2022 along with an

overpass An overpass, called an overbridge or flyover (for a road only) in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that is over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpa ...

across Na Ranong intersection in

Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, , ) is a districts of Bangkok, district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong Toei M ...

, where

Ratchadaphisek Ratchadaphisek Road (, ), also known as Bangkok Inner Ring Road () is a major road in Bangkok, Thailand. Conceived in 1971 and opened in 1976, it connects earlier portions including Asok Montri, Wong Sawang and Charan Sanitwong Roads to form t ...

crosses

Rama III Nangklao (born Thap; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), also known by his regnal name Rama III, was the third king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. Nangklao was the eldest surviving son of King Rama II. ...

, Sunthonkosa and Na Ranong Roads. The first phase of activation will only be open from 5am to 10pm as some of the decorations have not been completed.

See more

Thailand in World War II Thailand officially adopted a neutral position during World War II until the five hour-long Japanese invasion of Thailand on 8 December 1941, which led to an armistice and military alliance treaty between Thailand and the Empire of Japan in ...

Bombing of Bangkok in World War II The city of Bangkok, Thailand was bombed by the Allies on numerous occasions during World War II. It was also the target for the first combat mission by Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in June 1944. Initial British and American air raids Allied ...

References

{{reflist Bangkok Noi district Road junctions in Bangkok category:Neighbourhoods of Bangkok