Ban Chak Ngaeo Ancient Chinese Community

Ban Chak Ngaeo is a Teochew Chinese village in Huai Yai subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, inland from central Pattaya — settled by families who migrated from Puning county in China’s Guangdong region starting in the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910). More than 300 old wooden shophouses still line the main lane, and on Saturday afternoons the community turns that lane into “Talat Jin Chak Ngaeo,” a heritage street market that’s the only time most of the shops and stalls are actually open.

The name itself tells the settlement’s story: “Chak” means a low, fertile flatland good for farming, and “Ngaeo” comes from ngio ngaew, a thorny kapok tree that once grew wild across the site before it was cleared for the new arrivals. Walking the market lane on a Saturday, you’ll pass the Chak Ngaeo Rama cinema — around 50 years old and still running on a small ticket price — Chinese costume rental stalls set up for photos, street art murals, and an old communal well that’s become one of the market’s most-photographed spots. Food stalls sell the Thai-Chinese dishes this community is known for: kuay teow and kuay jub noodle soups, phalo (five-spice stewed pork and egg), fish congee, hoi jor (crab spring rolls), Vietnamese-style crepes, and bah-jang sticky rice dumplings.

Insider Tip: Arrive by 15:30-16:00. Stalls and the cinema fill in gradually through the afternoon, and by early evening the narrow lane gets genuinely crowded — go early for photos of the old shophouses without a crowd in every frame, then eat once the food stalls are in full swing.

Watch out: Show up on any day other than Saturday and there’s very little to see — this isn’t a daily open-air museum, it’s a residential village that becomes a market one afternoon a week.

There’s no public transport to the village, so plan on a taxi, rented car, or ride-hailing app, and time the drive around the Saturday market hours. It pairs naturally with other inland Bang Lamung stops such as Khao Chi Chan Buddha Mountain or The Horseshoe Point if you’re exploring beyond Pattaya’s beach strip.