Bang Phlat Intersection where Ratchawithi Road ends Ratchawithi Road, also spelled Rajvithi ( th, ถนนราชวิถี, ) is a major road in

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 ...

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 ...

. It begins in Ratchathewi district at Sam Liam Din Daeng Junction, where it intersects with Din Daeng Road and Ratchaprarop Road, and runs northwest, past Victory Monument

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

, through Dusit district, and ultimately crossing the Chao Phraya River on Krung Thon Bridge and ending in Bang Phlat district at Bang Phlat Intersection, where it intersects with

Sirindhorn Road Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, The Princess Royal and Princess Debaratana Rajasuda ( th, มหาจักรีสิรินธร, ; ; born April 2, 1955), formerly Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda Kitivadhanadulsobhak ( th, สมเ ...

and Charan Sanitwong Road. Ratchawithi Road was formerly known as Sang Hi Road ( th, ถนนซางฮี้ or ถนนซังฮี้). It was originally constructed during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, as one of three new roads constructed at the time

Dusit Palace Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King C ...

was built, along with Lok Road ( th, ถนนลก, now

Rama V Road Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

) and Duang Tawan Road ( th, ถนนดวงตะวัน, now Si Ayutthaya Road). The name "Sang Hi" comes from Chinese (囍), and means " exceedingly happy". The original road stretched only from behind Dusit Palace to the edge of the Chao Phraya. It was later expanded to connect to Ratchaprarop Road, and then extended across the river to Charan Sanitwong Road when the Krung Thon Bridge began construction in 1954. Because it connected the two sections of the former Sang Hi Road on either side of the river, the Krung Thong Bridge has been called by locals Sang Hi Bridge ( th, สะพานซังฮี้, ''Saphan Sang Hi'') since before it was officially christened. The intersection of Ratchawithi and Samsen roads, the final intersection before crossing the bridge on the east side of the river, is named Sang Hi Intersection. The name was changed to Ratchawithi Road on February 16, 1918 by King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

. The term is derived from the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist '' Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Bud ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

, ' + ', and means "royal way" or "king's road". The stretch of the road from Victory Monument to Kamphaeng Phet 5 Road is lined with a large number of hospitals and health-related institutions. These include Rajavithi Hospital and Boromarajonani College of Nursing, the Institute of Dermatology, Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health (Children's Hospital), Hospital for Tropical Diseases,

Phramongkutklao Hospital Phramongkutklao Hospital () is a hospital located in Ratchathewi District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is a military hospital for the Royal Thai Army and a teaching hospital for Phramongkutklao College of Medicine which trains doctors for the Royal ...

and College of Medicine, the Royal Thai Army Nursing College, Prasat Neurological Institute and the under-construction extension of

Ramathibodi Hospital Ramathibodi Hospital ( th, โรงพยาบาลรามาธิบดี ) is a university hospital of the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. and is a hospital capable of super tertiary care. It is a teaching ...

. At Ratchawithi Intersection, where it meets Rama V Road near Chitralada Royal Villa and Dusit Zoo at about 6:30 am on Sunday October 14, 1973, there was a clash between a group of protesters demanding a constitution and police. It escalated into a bloody uprising recorded in history known as " Oct 14 event".

References

{{coord, 13, 46, 25, N, 100, 31, 08, E, region:TH_type:landmark_source:kolossus-jawiki, display=title Streets in Bangkok Transport in Bangkok Ratchathewi district