Utthayan Road (, ), formerly and still colloquially known as Aksa Road (, ), is a road in

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 ...

, which is popularly regarded as the most beautiful road in

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 a broad

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

in western Bangkok's suburban Thawi Watthana District, and leads to the Buddhist park of

Phutthamonthon Phutthamonthon (, ; also spelled Buddha Monthon; from Sanskrit ''Buddha Máṇḍala'', 'Buddha's sphere') is a Buddhist park in Salaya subdistrict of Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. The park is situated just outsid ...

in the adjacent Phutthamonthon District 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 ...

. It has been maintained by the Public Works Department,

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok, which includes the capital of Thailand. The government is composed of two branches: the executive (or the Governor of Bangkok) and the legislative (or Bangkok Metro ...

(BMA). The road, in width, runs a short distance of , divided into approximately in Nakhon Pathom Province and about in Bangkok. It is extensively landscaped with 979 ''

hamsa The ''hamsa'' (, referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'),Zenner, 1988p. 284World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning (Belmont, Estados Unidos), 1991p. 219Drazin, 2009p. 268 also known as the hand of Fa ...

'' (mythological swan)

lamppost A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

s, -wide lotus-ponds in the central

traffic island A traffic island is a solid or painted object in a road that channels traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle. If the island uses road markings only, without raised curbs or other physica ...

and three

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

s. It serves as a link between Phuttamonthon Sai 3 and Phutthamonthon Sai 4 roads, and runs parallel between the nearby Phetkasem and Borommaratchachonnani roads. The road was conceived during the premiership of Field Marshal

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...

as part of the Phutthamonthon project, which would commemorate the Buddhist year 2500 in 1957. Construction of the park began in 1955, but was halted when the Phibunsongkhram government was toppled in 1957. Construction of the park resumed and was completed in the 1980s, and the road was built during the government of

Banharn Silpa-archa Banharn Silpa-archa (, , ; , '' mǎdéxiáng''; 19 August 1932 – 23 April 2016) was a Thai politician who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1995 to 1996. Banharn made a fortune in the construction business before he became a Memb ...

, to celebrate King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

in 1996. The road was officially opened on 27 February 1999. Costing over one billion baht, it is also the most expensive road in the country. The original name of the road, ''Aksa'', was derived from the Thai name for the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

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 ...

, which Thailand joined under Phibunsongkhram's government. The name was chosen to convey that the road served as an axis linking Phutthamonthon 3 and 4 roads. Its official name, which means "park", was later bestowed by King Bhumibol. The road is a popular location for photography, as well as road cycling and the annual

Songkran In many countries of South Asia and South East Asia, the traditional new year is calculated on the sun's entry into the constellation Aries as per the regional Hindu calendars or Buddhist calendars. The sun's entry into Aries is known as Sank ...

festival. However, all Songkran activities were forbidden by Bangkok due to safety concerns in 2017. The road was also used as the site of political demonstrations by the

United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD; , alternatively translated as National Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship), whose supporters are commonly called Red Shirts, is a political pressure group opposed to the People' ...

during the 2013–2014 political crisis.

References

{{coord, 13, 46, 41.49, N, 100, 20, 51.91, E, type:adm3rd_region:TH-10, display=title Thawi Watthana district category:Streets in Bangkok category:Buildings and structures completed in 1999 category:1999 establishments in Thailand category:Tourist attractions in Bangkok