Wat Traimit — Temple of the Golden Buddha
Wat Traimit Witthayaram (Temple of the Auspicious Dragon) in Bangkok’s Chinatown district is famous worldwide for housing the Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon, a solid-gold Buddha image weighing approximately 5.5 tonnes and standing 3 metres tall — the world’s largest solid-gold Buddha statue. The image was discovered to be solid gold in 1955 when it was accidentally dropped during a move, cracking the plaster casing in which it had been hidden, possibly to protect it from invaders during the fall of Ayutthaya in the eighteenth century.
- Address
- 661 Charoen Krung Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand
- Period
- Temple origins in the early Rattanakosin period; current chedi and museum building completed 2010
- Style
- Thai Rattanakosin Buddhist architecture; museum building in contemporary Thai style
- Location
- Chinatown (Yaowarat), Samphanthawong district, Bangkok
- Coordinates
- 13.7377° N, 100.5136° E
At a glance
- Type
- Buddhist temple and museum
- Period
- Early Rattanakosin; current building 2010
- Style
- Thai Buddhist
- Key object
- Solid-gold Buddha image, 5.5 tonnes, Sukhothai style (13th–14th century)
- Current use
- Active temple; museum on Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon and Chinatown history
Overview
Wat Traimit sits at the eastern edge of Bangkok’s Chinatown, a neighbourhood shaped by successive waves of Chinese immigration from the late eighteenth century onward. The temple serves a predominantly Chinese-Thai congregation and combines Thai Buddhist architecture with Chinese decorative elements that reflect the cultural syncretism of the Yaowarat district. Beyond its religious function, Wat Traimit operates an acclaimed museum on two floors beneath the Golden Buddha shrine room, documenting both the statue’s extraordinary history and the story of the Chinese community in Bangkok.
History
The temple was established in the early nineteenth century to serve the growing Sino-Thai community of the area then being developed as Bangkok’s Chinatown. The golden Buddha image it now houses dates to the Sukhothai period, roughly the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and was likely transported to Ayutthaya before the capital’s fall to Burmese forces in 1767; the plaster casing with which it was covered appears to date from that turbulent period. After centuries in obscurity, the statue was accidentally revealed in 1955 and the solid-gold discovery transformed the temple into one of Bangkok’s most visited sites. A purpose-built five-storey marble-clad chedi was completed in 2010 to house the image and the accompanying museum.
What you see
The Golden Buddha occupies the top floor of the white marble Maha Monkhon Bophit building, a soaring interior space where the image’s surface of nine-carat gold gleams under controlled lighting. The seated figure is in the Bhumisparsa mudra (earth-touching gesture) and displays the elegant lines of the classic Sukhothai artistic canon. The two lower museum floors present the history of Chinatown and the story of the statue’s discovery with artefacts, models and bilingual Thai–English displays. The temple courtyard combines traditional bot and viharn buildings with the contemporary marble chedi, surrounded by the commercial density of Yaowarat Road.
Cultural significance
The Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon is among the most venerated Buddha images in Thailand and is an object of active religious pilgrimage for both Thai Buddhists and overseas Chinese communities. Its extraordinary discovery story has made it a symbol of hidden value and resilience, widely cited in Thai popular culture. The temple’s Chinatown museum contributes to the documentation of one of Southeast Asia’s most significant overseas Chinese communities, whose commercial and cultural influence shaped modern Bangkok.
Practical information
- Address
- 661 Charoen Krung Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand
- Opening hours
- Daily 08:00–17:00 (check official website for current hours)
- Admission
- Entrance fee applies; check official website for current prices
- Dress code
- Modest dress required; shoulders and knees covered
Getting there
From central Bangkok, take the MRT Blue Line to Hua Lamphong station (exit 1), then a five-minute walk west along Charoen Krung Road into Chinatown. The temple is visible at the intersection of Charoen Krung and Traimit roads. Alternatively, the Chao Phraya Express Boat stops at Si Phraya pier (N3) with a short taxi ride or tuk-tuk through Chinatown. The BTS Silom Line stop at Saphan Taksin is about 15 minutes by taxi.