Ban Pong (, ) is a district (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the Provinces of Thailand, provinces, and are analogous to count ...

'') of

Ratchaburi province Ratchaburi province (, ) or Rat Buri () is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in Western Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It is in the northeast of the province.

Geography

Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Tha Muang and Tha Maka of

Kanchanaburi province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

Kamphaeng Saen Kamphaeng Saen (, ) is the northwesternmost district (''amphoe'') of Nakhon Pathom province, central Thailand. History Kamphaeng Saen was a moated centre of Dvaravati culture, dating from 410-870 CE, with the foundation of a Buddhist stupa ident ...

and Mueang Nakhon Pathom of

Nakhon Pathom province Nakhon Pathom (, ,Pronunciation) is one of the central Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Suphan Buri province, Suphan Buri, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, Ayutthaya ...

, and Photharam of Ratchaburi province. Ban Pong district is hilly in the western part of the district, while the eastern part is a

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

with the

Mae Klong The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Meklong, is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, o ...

River running through the city centre, connecting the city to the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

History

The

Mon people The Mon (; Thai Mon: ဂကူမည်; , ; , ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand (mostly in Pathum Than ...

settled in the Ban Pong area about four centuries ago. The Mon communities have maintained some of their traditions and have built their own

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

s. Later the town attracted numerous Chinese immigrants. Also many Lao Wiang communities settled in the Nong Kop subdistrict of rural Ban Pong. Two great fires occurred in Ban Pong, razing the town centre: one in 1936 and the other in 1954. The town was rebuilt in the square-grid design then fashionable, with a fountain to the south and a clock tower to the north.

Camp Nong Pladuk

During the Japanese-directed construction of the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

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 ...

Nong Pladuk was the site of one of the Japanese

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

camps where numerous British, Dutch and allied troops arrived. Camp Nong Pladuk was initially used as a transit camp from where the prisoners were transported or had to walk to work camps along the Burma Railway. Later Nong Pladuk was used a revalidation camp. During World War II, 23,289 British, 12,329 Dutch, 4,708 Australian, 482 American, and 7,030 undetermined soldiers passed through Camp Nong Pladuk.

Economy

As a result of high investment and fast economic development in the past decades, the town stands as one with the highest GDP per capita in western Thailand, well above national average. It is also experiencing de-industrialisation of labour-intensive industries such as canning and sugar refining. There is a large abandoned

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

factory in Ban Pong town. The town is now experiencing a boom in more highly skilled industries such as auto parts, petrochemical, and food industries, with more than 70 percent of Thai buses and coaches manufactured in Ban Pong. The biggest

paper making Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a special ...

complex in Thailand lies north of the town. As of June 2014, the National Statistics Bureau reported Ban Pong's annual GDP per capita (nominal) at US$9,623 and its annual GDP per capita (PPP) at US$24,000 compared with Thailand's US$5,675 and US$14,136 respectively. Ban Pong is also the centre of a large pet market especially

ornamental fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...

. There are more than 20,000 fish culture farmers, which is also the largest in

southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Sights

West of the town Ban Pong is Wat Muang, a centre of the Mon community. There is also a large Roman Catholic

church building A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

and a large

Administration

The district is divided into 15 sub-districts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

s''), which are further subdivided into 182 villages (''

muban Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...

s'').

Ban Pong Ban Pong (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Ratchaburi province, Thailand. It is in the northeast of the province. Geography Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Tha Muang district, Tha Muang and Tha Maka district, Tha Maka of Ka ...

itself is a town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' ...

'') which encompasses ''tambon'' Ban Pong. Another town in the district is Tha Pha () whose administrative area covers the entire subdistrict Tha Pha and parts of Pak Raet. There are a further four townships (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban (, , , Pali, Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesa ...

s'') including: 1. Krachap () covers parts of Nong O and Don Krabueang 2. Huai Krabok () covers parts of Krap Yai 3. Krap Yai () 4. Boek Phrai () and 14 other tambon administrative organizations (TAO) responsible for the non-municipal areas.

Health

Ban Pong is served by Ban Pong Hospital, a teaching hospital operated by the Ministry of Public Health.

Transport

Nong Pladuk Junction railway station is located in Ban Pong, where the Burma Railway leading to

Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi (, ) is a town municipality ('' thesaban mueang'') in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The town of lies to the southeast of Erawan National Park within Kanchanaburi Province, approximately 120km west of Bangkok. In 2006 it had a po ...

(and further to Nam Tok) and Suphanburi Line connects with

Suphan Buri province Suphan Buri (, ) located in the central region of Thailand, is one of the country's 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat), the first-level administrative divisions. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Uthai Thani, Chai ...

to the north splits from Southern Line leading to Padang Besar (Thai) railway station. Ban Pong railway station is the main railway station in the district, in Ban Pong town. There are 2 other railway stations in the district: * Khlong Bang Tan Railway Station * Nakhon Chum Railway Station

References

External links

*
Australian Prisoners of War (POWs) Ban Pong, Thailand
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