Santi Khiri: Chinatown in the Thai mountains
High in the mountains of northern Thailand, relatively close to the border with Myanmar (Burma), is a village that is XNUMX percent Chinese, although the residents also speak fluent Thai. Chinese inscriptions, signposts and billboards welcome you to this remarkable enclave.
Santi Khiri attracts many visitors, and no wonder, because the atmosphere is unique and the surrounding mountain world is downright dramatic. Welcome to Peace Hill.
Ethnical minorities
Anyone who has traveled in the far north of Thailand, for example with the cities of Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai as a starting point, has become acquainted with the different hill tribes that populate the area: Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Yao and Padaung (long necks). ). All ethnic minorities, with roots in Burma and China, who honor their traditional way of life, as witnessed by their clothing and their houses. The villages in which they live, often in beautiful places in the middle of nature, usually consist of a collection of wooden houses on stilts with a roof of palm leaves. There are no paved roads, only sandy paths that are often deeply worn out by rainfall or erosion. All those villages look more or less alike, but there is one exception.
General Tual Xi-Wen Mausoleum at Ban Santi (Khirikwanchai / Shutterstock.com)
Peace Hill
For that you have to go to Doi Mae Salong in the Mae Fah Luang district of Chiang Rai province. This is a mountain (doi = mountain in Thai) about 1200 meters high with a village on top called Ban Santi Khiri, which means Peace Hill (ban, pronounced as job = house, in this case village). Santi Khiri, also written as Santikhiree, is a XNUMX% Chinese settlement and you can see that immediately from the construction of the houses, low and made of gray stone, and the names and inscriptions in Chinese characters. There are still a few Chinese settlements in this region, but Santi Khiri is the largest and the most important.
How did Doi Mae Salong get this Chinese community? For that we have to go back to 1949. In that year communism came to power in China with Mao Tse Tung. Soldiers of the nationalist Kuomintang army, the so-called Lost Army, partly fled to the island of Taiwan, another part, in particular the 93rd division, under the leadership of generals Tuan Shi-wen and Lee Wen-huan, fled to the south, towards Burma and Laos.
Tea shop
They were not really welcome there and that is why around 1961 they sought refuge even further south. Thailand let them in on the condition that they would help keep that country out of the communist sphere of influence. That worked and that's how Santi Khiri has become a real Chinatown, with residents of Chinese origin but Thai citizens.
They started with the production of tea and fruit, which is still the main source of income. In addition to tourism, because there are also simple ones hotels, restaurants and guesthouses arose, of course with Chinese names and Chinese characters on the facade.
After arriving in Santi Khiri I first visit the Chinese museum (“Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum” is written on the facade in English and Chinese) in which the history of these emigrants is explained in detail. Then I end up in a real Chinese tea shop where the owner shows me her entire trading stock in a mix of Chinese, Thai and English, including a large amount of traditional medicines, because without that a Chinese shop is not complete.
(kwan chai / Shutterstock.com)
Teapot as a monument
As you walk through Santi Khiri – there is actually only one long road winding up the ridge – you can't miss the plantations; the rather steep slopes are covered with the bright green of tea bushes and low fruit trees. Coffee and vegetables are also grown here and there, but tea is the most important. To emphasize this, gigantic teapots arise in the middle of the plantations as true monuments. Groups of workers and pickers move on the slopes.
There are a lot of tourists, because Santi Khiri attracts a lot of visitors, especially on weekends. They walk around, take a horse or mule ride, populate the shops, the souvenir stalls and the terraces, each of which offers a view so beautiful that you will not easily forget it. So I find myself sitting still long after my consumption – tea, what do you think? – is on, captivated by the peaceful and extraordinarily beautiful landscape. A little later the same thing happens when I enjoy dishes from the South Chinese kitchen.
Super clean air
No shortage of sights. In addition to the already mentioned museum, there is a beautiful Buddhist stupa. It was erected in memory of the late Queen Mother of Thailand, who did a lot for the development of this area, including by reducing heroin production in exchange for other means of livelihood. Nearby I see a Christian church and a mosque. In Santi Khiri the religions tolerate each other effortlessly.
Very special is the new temple that is built on a mountain ridge high above the village and can only be reached on foot or by mule. Needless to say, the view here is even more breathtaking. At another high point is the tomb of General Tuan Shi-wen, which also attracts many people. There are tea plantations where explanations are given about everything related to production and where you can taste various varieties such as Oolong tea that is widely exported to China, Europe and the Middle East. As I walk around I notice the large amount of lichen that has clung to trees and rocks, a sign that the air here is super clean and healthy.
How do you get there?
Santi Khiri is located about 50 kilometers north of Chiang Rai and you can reach it from the east or from the south. Those who do not have their own transport can use a songthaeo (minibus) from Mae Chan, with a change in Kew Satai.
Local tour operators organize guided excursions in this northern part of Thailand, including Santi Khiri.
An address to remember is Homestay Chiangrai from the Dutchman Toony de Kroon, an intimate mini-resort just outside Chiang Rai. Toony provides various excursions, knows the area like no other and takes you to the nicest and most interesting places.
In Santi Khiri, simple hotels and guesthouses provide accommodation for those who want to stay longer.
Author: Henk Bouwman – www.reizenexclusive.nl
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The former Kuomintang village of Mae Salong (like the mountain that is still Doi Mae Salong) has been renamed Santikhiri for several decades, just as the nearby Ban Hin Taek, where the 'warlord' Khun Sa had his headquarters, has been renamed Ban Therd Thai. Beautiful region.
If you want to see the hill tribes at the morning market, you have to get up very early. From tourist residences, one should leave well before sunrise to experience that most unique and authentic atmosphere. Almost all visitors who arrive in minibuses see a picturesque Santikhiri, which is already fully geared to day tourism.
I must have been there four or five times. My first visit was over 22 years ago, my last just over two years. In the past, one had to follow a winding rather narrow road from Chiangrai province just north of Mae Chan to the Doi Mae Salong. For quite a few years now, however, the short cut from the traditionally better lane Mae Chan – Thaton has become a good road. For those who don't dislike curves and slopes at all, both routes provide nice driving pleasure - at least in daylight.
Last week I drove the loop over Doi Mae Salong from Mae Chan – a truly beautiful trip of around 70 kilometers. From near Mae Chan Hospital on Highway 1 take 1089 towards Ai and Thaton, 39 km further on turn right towards Doi Mae Salong (Road No. 1130). Continue to follow the 1130 after Doi Mae Salong and you will eventually return to Highway, about 4 km north of the starting point. Spectacular climbing and descending, breathtaking views. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the next day, when reading up on where I had been, that I came across the existence – and history – of Santikhiri, so the trip is worth repeating with that expansion. From Doi Mae Salong it is five to six km, is my estimate.
Incidentally, the car trip was also intended to see if this loop could be done by bike (with my residence as a starting point, which would add another 2×40 km). My conclusion was: don't do it, Cornelis. The 1089 is largely doable (tried before), but the 1130 includes many - often extremely - steep climbs. I'm used to something but this looked pretty intense to my retired cyclist eyes.
Incidentally, the entire route - with the exception of a few kilometers after passing the heart of Doi Mae Salong - is quite wide and provided with excellent asphalt.
Editors: 39 km should be 30 km.
What a nice article and equally nice comments.
I like to read this!
I'll keep it for a next trip, because I want to see this, as well as the tip for the mini-resort.
Super!