Ancient City, Thailand

It took three years before I discovered Ancient City right here in Bangkok! What an incredible and comprehensive theme park intended to preserve the history of Thailand/Siam by displaying both life-size and scaled-down examples of its architecture and culture through the centuries.

Ancient City (also known as Ancient Siam) is in the shape of the country of Thailand and the selected temples and buildings are roughly in the same location in the park as they are in Thailand. In other words, Ancient City enables visitors to see distinctive regions of the entire country within a 200 acre span!

It was evident the Leamans and I would not be able to cover the entire park on our first visit, so I ended up going again in December with other friends. Whether journeying through the park driving a golf cart or riding a bike, the grounds are extensive and I was glad to have some mode of transportation!

Ancient City is organized by time period and region. Since the timing of the different dynasties doesn’t mean a lot to me when reviewing Thai history, I decided to organize this post by the varying structures and architectural elements found in the Park by type; this makes it easier to get an overall picture of the country with regional differences.

MEETING HALLS AND OTHER TOWN STRUCTURES

The City Sala in ancient Siam was a pavilion traditionally built by the townspeople within the city walls to serve as a meeting place. This example structure was used by royal troops in the province of Chon Buri.

In the ancient cities existed a group of eight houses all facing toward a common open-air veranda. The gables and roof design followed the Dvaravati Palace. A picture of royalty was hanging in one of the open air sitting rooms, giving visitors an image of residents at the time.

Typically, public places were located in the center of a population and aided in the merit-making ceremonies and other social activities. These structures was to show-off the well-to-do status of a community and the generosity of the contributors in the community. In this case, the Sala of Ramayana was named after the story represented by the murals painted inside.

This Wilhan of Wat Chiang Kong in Chiang Rai assembly hall demonstrates how important it was for a community to have a large space to gather for ceremonies and activities. The roof structure of this Center is difficult to find today, using wooden tiles that are connected by hooks (no nails).

This Wilhan at Sa-Moeng assembly hall was an important structure in the Chiang Mai province that portrays the traditional style of northern religious monuments. It houses a relic or image of Buddha. Notice the low-height wall that surrounds.

GARDENS, RIVER BOATS AND STORY-TELLING

Interspersed throughout the theme park are examples of gardens often found in Thai environments, such as this one called the Ramayana Garden that depicts the migration of Arayan people in northern India.

Other gardens include this one named Manahora Garden depicting events that took place in various Thai provinces throughout Thai literature.

The story of the Ten Reincarnations of Buddha is well-known among the Thai people. It tells the story of the last ten lives of the Buddha-to-be before gaining enlightenment. This building named Sala of Ten Reincarnations serves not only as an example of Thai architecture but a religious school for the community.

The Sala of 80 Yogi exhibit demonstrates the 80 postures of the yogi which is a form of ancient Thai medical treatments practiced for generations. King Rama III initiated the recording of yoga instruction and this sala is intended to be studied by future medical students.

While in the park, I learned that every province has its own river barge symbol displayed at the helm of long boats. For instance, the barge from the province of Krabi has an image using white and gold.

The Thais have their own version of a ‘house boat’ as seen floating in the river... to me, this seems more like a community boat due to its size!

This Kuan-Yin statue represents the Preserver of Buddha; holding Buddha above the deity’s head means that justice is being maintained. The deity is to conquer via performing miracles any evil forces that threaten humanity.

Ancient City includes the Botanical Garden of Thai Literature that is to highlight natural diversity. In particular, the plants and trees in this garden are all mentioned in Thai literature. I didn’t see much of the garden because I was amused by the cat who was lazing his way on a hot afternoon.

STUPAS AND CHEDIS

Southern Thai architects designed this monastery named Stupa of Phra Maha That where Buddha relics are housed. This somewhat smaller version of the one at Nakhon Sri Thammarat, as in most cities in Thailand, became the identifying symbol of the city in 555 AD. I was able to see similar stupas while on my trip to Sukhothai Historic Park a few years ago.

The Stupa in Ratchaburi monument, with brick central tower, represents Mahayana Buddhism and was constructed around 11-13th centuries.

The Chedi Chet Yod, the Seven-spired Pagoda (1455 AD) is situated at a monastery in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The main body of the structure is a rectangle and on its roof stand 5 chedi towers on square bases and another 2 chedi towers on stucco motifs.

The Chedi of Cham Thewi was constructed in the Hariphunchaya period and is a series of five cubes sitting on top of one another. The largest cube serves as the base and each houses images of Buddha that date back to the 14-15th centuries.

STATUES AND TRIBUTES

The images of three Hindu deities hidden in this tree originate from 13-14th century India. The deity images are of God Vishnu, Shiva and Lakshmi. I could only find two images in Pallava Group of Images... not sure where the third is… no doubt hidden somewhere in the root system.

This Buddha image is located in the most important city in the Dvaravati Kingdom and is thought to be built between 12-16th centuries. It displays images typical from this region, of gigantic Buddha images in the teaching posture.

Ayutthaya in its times of prosperity spread power throughout the region where cities became dependent states. These city states were responsible for contributing tributes, such as the Phra Kaew Pavilion, taking the octagonal design from Ayutthayan architecture.

The Pavilion of the Enlightened is to represent that many people with different backgrounds and codes of conduct can become enlightened and reach Nirvana. It is definitely an architectural statement in that you walk from one ‘stage’ to another having a round-about at intersection points so as not to influence your decision in direction one way or another.

Many walkways and walls around buildings also contained statues believed to guard entryways.

ELEMENTS IN MONASTERIES

Scripture Repositories located in monasteries house palm leaf manuscripts and are typically raised over a pond to protect them from ants and termites. This particular example of a Repository is modeled after the Ayuttaya architectural style where the outside walls are painted and gilded with gold murals of the Life of Buddha.

Bell Towers are used to signal the start of events for monks and local residents.

This teaching hall, known also as the Tiger King’s Palace, was reconstructed in the area of Petchaburi and now serves as a museum of Buddhist artifacts taken from monasteries. Interior objects of particular interest are the teaching throne, footprint of Buddha and line of Buddhas.

EAST AND WEST

Throughout the theme park, visitors get the idea that Eastern ideology is the preferred option in the world of western distractions of materialism, technology, natural disaster, human demoralization and spiritual suffering. According to eastern thought, westerners continue in efforts to conquer nature and dominate the universe which lead to selfish ambitions, unceasing wars and competition for economic resources. From what I've learned of Asian history, it seems those following eastern religion have and continue to experience similar 'distractions' with their constant wars and plundering of neighboring countries as well.

For instance, one eastern war is represented in the park by a statue depicting the Great Battle of Yuthahathi when the Ayutthaya dynasty in Siam fell to Burma in 1569.

As a Christian, I seriously question the premise that easterners hold of western intention. While materialism, technology, natural disaster, human demoralization obviously exists in the west, I trust in a loving God who lives in the hearts and lives of His followers to provide a way to overcome these imperfections when we recognize Him and His ability to do so. The difference between religions – a living God who guides each follower (west) vs an image of a former prophet called on through ritual (east) – hit home for me when witnessing a worker at the theme park working on one of the images of Buddha with a hammer and chisel in hand.

What a wonderfully jam-packed couple days at Ancient City gaining a good sense of the architecture and culture of Thailand! I'm glad I took my time so I could get a sense of the country through the centuries and appreciate the incredible detail in each regional representation.