Chinpracha Mansion

Location: 98 Krabi Street, Talad Nua, Amphor Muang, Phuket

Occupant: Mr. Pracha Tanthwanich

Year established: 1903

Phraya Bhitak Chinpracha (Tan Ma Siang) was the seventh son of the Chinese immigrant, Luang Baamrung Chin Prated (Tan Nieaw Ye), who owned tin mines in Phuket and other various trading businesses in Penang. After his father had passed away, he inherited his family business. He set about modernizing his trade with the introduction of machines as opposed to the traditional use f manpower. This was greatly advanced for its time. He was later given the task of being a mining advisor for the Metal Department before dedicating himself to King Rama VI (Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua), and it was at this time he received his last name “Tanthawanich”. Through generous donations he assisted in establishing a school, where King Rama VI came to the opening ceremony and named it “Tanthawanich Withyakhom” (now known as Stri Phuket School), to honor and remember all doPhunors responsible for the founding of the school.

The Chinpracha Mansion ws built in 1903 by Praya Bhitak Chinpracha in the reign of King Rama V. His intention was to pass it on to his son. This is the first mansion built in a Sino-portuguese architectural style within Phuket or known as Ang Moe Lhaow style. The mansion is a two floor building with a sign of Chinese characters on the porch at the entrance. The entrance door is decorated with designed in order to create maximum ventilation. Almost all the furniture and furnishings are inherited from an ancestral Chinese style. Due to the merchant ships from Penang to Phuket over the flourishing period, most of the materials used for the home furnishings were imported from overseas, such as fences made from Holland or flagstones imported from Italy.

Today, Khun Pracha Tanthawanich, the descendent of Phraya Bhitak Chinpracha, is the inheritor of this luxurious mansion. It is still well-preserved and open to the public as a source of cultural and social studies as an example of what life would have been like in Phuket three-hundred years ago. It also exhibits many interesting antique furnishings such as home appliances, photographs and paintings.