The Chatuchak Weekend Market ( th, ตลาดนัดจตุจักร, ), on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, Chatuchak,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populatio ...

, is the largest market in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Also known as JJ Market, it has more than 15,000 stalls and 11,505 vendors (2019), divided into 27 sections. Chatuchak Market sells many different kinds of goods, including

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

, pets, fresh and dry

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

and

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

and

home accessories Home accessories are furniture items which are easy to replace and easy to move, and include almost any items that are not strictly functionally necessary in a decorated space. These accessories include such items as curtains, sofa sets, cushions, t ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

, and

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...

s. It is the world's largest and most diverse weekend market, with over 200,000 visitors every weekend.

History

Chatuchak Market has been open since 1942. In 1948, Prime Minister

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

had a policy that every province was required to have its own market. Bangkok chose

Sanam Luang Sanam Luang ( th, สนามหลวง, ; lit: 'royal turf') is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok. ...

as the market site. After a few months, the government moved the market to Sanam Chai. The market moved back to Sanam Luang in 1958. Starting in 1975, General

Kriangsak Chamanan Kriangsak Chamanan ( th, เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์, ; 17 December 191723 December 2003) served as prime minister of Thailand from 1977 to 1980. After staging a successful coup, he was asked to become Prime ...

have the policy to use Sanam Luang as a place of recreational activity for the populace which will also be used for commemorating ceremony. As General

was the chairman of

State Railway of Thailand The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ( th, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand. History The SRT was ...

as that time, he thus permitted the use of land on the south side of Chatuchak Park as a market. His design was to recycled waste from the looming Din Daeng Garbage Mountain which has stacked up across the decades to use as landfills, where he recruited military engineers for the job. The park was fully completed in 1978, when General Kriangsak Chomanan became the Prime Minister. By 1983, all of the merchants had moved to Chatuchak. At that time the market was called Phahonyothin Market. In 1987, its name was changed to Chatuchak Market. The

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...

is a distinctive landmark in the Chatuchuk Market. It was built in 1987 on the occasion of

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

's 60th birthday on 5 December 1987, a cooperative effort of the market administration and Thai-Chinese Merchant Association.

Economics

Monthly stall rent for vendors at the market ranges from 10,600 to 17,700

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-most ...

. A University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) study found that most merchants have been selling at the weekend market for four to six years and have an average sales revenue of 139,500 baht per month.

Trade in illegal wildlife

Studies have shown that the Chatuchak Market is a centre for trade in illegal wildlife. In a survey conducted on 28–29 March 2015, researchers counted 1,271 birds of 117 species for sale in 45 shops or stalls. Of the total, nine species were listed as "Threatened" on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

and eight species as "Near Threatened".

Market sections

*Clothing and accessories (sections 2–6, 10–26) *Handicrafts (sections 8–11) *Ceramics (sections 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 25) *Furniture and home decor (sections 1,3,4,7,8) *Food and beverage (sections 2, 3, 4, 23, 24, 26, 27) *Plants and gardening (sections 3, 4) *Art and galleries (section 7) *Pets and accessories (sections 8, 9, 11, 13) *Books (sections 1, 27) *Antiques and collectibles (sections 1, 26) *Miscellaneous and used clothing (sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22, 25, 26)

Gallery

Image:Bangkok - Jatujak Market 01.JPG, One of its many small aisles, Chatuchak Market Image:Chatuchak_Weekend_Market_Soi.jpg, A narrow aisle, Chatuchak Market Image:Chatuchak weekend market.jpg, Fish for sale, Chatuchak Market Image:Fake football shirts.jpg, Fake football shirts, Chatuchak Market Image:Thai Silk.jpg, Thai silk, Chatuchak Market Image:Chatuchak clocktower.jpg, Clock tower, Chatuchak Market Image:Chatuchak weekend market roofs.jpg, Central clock tower, Chatuchak Market Image:Taxis and minibusues (8271081864).jpg, Taxi and minibus queue, Chatuchak Market

References

External links

Chatuchak Market Website
* {{Visitor attractions in Bangkok Retail markets in Bangkok Buildings and structures in Bangkok Chatuchak district