Chatuchak Weekend Market

The Chatuchak Weekend Market (Thai: ตลาดนัดจตุจักร, RTGS: Talatnat Chatuchak), on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok, is the largest market in Thailand.[1] Also known as JJ Market, it has more than 15,000 stalls and 11,505 vendors (2019),[2] divided into 27 sections. Chatuchak Market sells many different kinds of goods, including plants, antiques, consumer electronics, cosmetics, pets, food and drinks, fresh and dry food, ceramics, furniture and home accessories, clothing, and books.[3][4]

Chatuchak Weekend Market
Chatuchak Weekend Market on a saturday afternoon.
LocationChatuchak, Bangkok
WebsiteChatuchakmarket.org

It is the world's largest and most diverse weekend market, with over 200,000 visitors every weekend.[3][5][6]

History

Chatuchak Market has been open since 1942.[7] In 1948, Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram had a policy that every province was required to have its own market. Bangkok chose Sanam Luang 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 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 Kriangsak Chamanan was the chairman of State Railway of Thailand 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.[8] [9]

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.[10]

The clock tower is a distinctive landmark in the Chatuchuk Market. It was built in 1987 on the occasion of King Bhumibol Adulyadej'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. 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.[2]

Trade in illegal wildlife

Studies have shown that the Chatuchak Market is a centre for trade in illegal wildlife.[11][12]

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 and eight species as "Near Threatened".[11]:24-29[13]

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)[3]
  • One of its many small aisles, Chatuchak Market
  • A narrow aisle, Chatuchak Market
  • Fish for sale, Chatuchak Market
  • Fake football shirts, Chatuchak Market
  • Thai silk, Chatuchak Market
  • Clock tower, Chatuchak Market
  • Central clock tower, Chatuchak Market
  • Taxi and minibus queue, Chatuchak Market

References
  1. Agar, Charles (19 July 2006). Frommer's Thailand. John Wiley & Sons. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-470-04031-7.
  2. Apisitniran, Lamonphet (2019-01-29). "Chatuchak shops plied with e-commerce, loans". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  3. "Welcome, Chatuchak Weekend Market". Chatuchak Weekend Market. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  4. "Guide To Chatuchak Market: Experience For Shopping". Asia Marvels. 14 March 2017.
  5. "Where is the World's Largest Weekend Market?". Wanderlust and Lipstick.
  6. "Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, Thailand-Map-Layout". Guide to Thailand. Archived from the original on 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  7. "Chatuchak Weekend Market Bangkok".
  8. "เกี่ยวกับเรา - กองอำนวยการตลาดนัดกรุงเทพมหานคร (ตลาดนัดเมืองมีน)".
  9. "Food and music shops to look out for at Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market". The Straits Times. 23 December 2016.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2014-11-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Ching, Serene C L; Eaton, James A (2016). "Snapshot of an on-going trade: an inventory of birds for sale in Chatuchak weekend market, Bangkok, Thailand" (PDF). BirdingASIA. 25. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  12. "Bangkok market a hub for illegal international trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises". International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 2008-04-25. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  13. "Persistent illegal bird trade highlighted at notorious Bangkok Market". Traffic. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.

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