Old Shanghai Comes to Life in Bangkok’s Historic Chinatown
Situated in the heart of Chinatown a short distance from Bangkok’s main railway station Hua Lamphong, is the Shanghai Mansion Hotel in Yaowarat Road. This wonderful, artistic hotel with its art deco design, billed as “romantic, opulent and seductive” takes you back to the golden era of 1930s Shanghai.
From the outside, the grey frontage of the building with the ever present red, hanging Chinese lanterns does not even begin to hint at what lies behind this façade. Cross over the small red bridge at the side of the Shanghai Terrace Lounge into the reception area and immediately there is a sense of stepping back in time. However, it is not until we exit the lift on the first floor that we really experience what it means to be surrounded by the beauty, the opulence and the artistic flair of a bygone era.
The hotel has a long history of transformation having started out as a trading house in 1908 before becoming Bangkok’s first Chinese Opera house. The hotel reports that the Opera House was frequented by members of the aristocracy including the Thai Royal family as it was “renowned for its spectacular interiors and popular staging of classic Chinese theatre.”
The opulent interior of the Shanghai Mansion hotel. Image: © Anutr Tosirikul
This building went on to become Thailand’s Stock Exchange and Trading Centre in the mid 1900’s before becoming a fashionable department store. In 2005 the Bursari Group, a hotel management group with a focus on creating lifestyle experiences, rescued the building after it had fallen into a state of disrepair and set about creating the Shanghai Mansion.
What gives this hotel a feeling of opulence and artistic flair is the furnishings of deep red and golden upholstery, yellow ochre and fire red walls highlighting ornate black lacquered chairs and cabinets, embossed intricate wallpaper in shades of red, and suitably placed large prints of elegant women in affective poses.
The Red Rose restaurant with its black and white tiled floor, red and gold plush velvet chairs and heavy golden drapes offers “an epicurean journey that reaches back in time, when emperors dined on rarefied, elegantly cooked meals inspired by simplicity and tradition.” The Shanghai Mansion is all this and more.
Internally, a towering light-filled atrium spans three floors. In the heart of this space, on the first floor, is a water garden teeming with fish and plants spanning the length of the building. From on high, multi-coloured bird cages of varying shapes and sizes are suspended from the ceiling and hang over the water garden. At the end of the water-garden an impressive spiral staircase ascends to the upper floor. It is a beautiful space.
Local women at the hotel in traditional dress for Chinese New Year. Image: © Vin Coffey
It is by sheer chance that we are here at the Shanghai Mansion for Chinese New Year. When I booked the accommodation I did not realise that it was during this auspicious festival. So it was a surprise on our first day, as we leave our room, to find women beautifully presented in their best Chinese outfits gathering for their photos to be taken in front of the impressive water-garden, others posing dramatically on the elegant spiral staircase.
We could not have chosen a better location to be part of this festival. It is hard to imagine the street party that is unfolding a short distance away right in front of the hotel as our room, with its small cosy sitting room featuring a red velvet couch and a black wrought iron candelabra chandelier, is cocooned in silence - the street festivities so near yet seemingly so far away.
With our accommodation is an invitation to a Dim Sum High Tea in the Shanghai Terrace Jazz Lounge that opens out onto Yaowarat road. We arrive at the appointed time and meet Lydia, our effervescent waitress, striking in her red Chinese cheongsam with her dark hair swept up into an elegant chignon. She explains the delicious bite size pieces that arrive on our three-tiered cake stands as she pours jasmine tea into delicate cups. We are surrounded by other guests who nod and smile as they enjoy their teas. It’s certainly a different version of a high tea from others we have known.
For those who want to indulge a little further the hotel offers a range of spa therapies ranging from spa purification treatments to coconut oil massages to detox and natural facials along with a range of body treatments. The list is extensive but as we are intent on being part of the festival activities and the treatments are heavily booked, we leave no time to experience these offerings.
Tables and chairs in front of the hotel from which to watch the festivities. Image: © Vin Coffey
In front of the hotel the street party is gathering pace. The staff from the Shanghai Terrace Lounge place yellow tables and chairs on the footpath to accommodate the overflow of their patrons and by late afternoon the road is closed and humming with street vendors, food stalls and sightseers. There is no missing the colour red, it is in profusion everywhere from the Chinese lanterns, to the large street banners to the clothes people are wearing, and why not, for it is the colour that represents happiness, good luck and good fortune.
It’s also hard to miss the smell of sizzling chicken, beef and pork from the delicious stalls which offer a variety of food and not surprisingly, many stalls display rice piled into mountainous proportions.
We join the street crowd. On the corner a man is selling an array of miniature puppet dragons dangling from bamboo canes, eyes flashing, while in the street, dragons of all shapes and sizes begin to appear. A sense of safety and well-being prevails. This is a family occasion, so it is not surprising to see young lads learning the art of training the dragon with their own small dragons and teams of helpers.
At 9.00 pm the spectacular golden dragon arrives, glistening in the night lights. Towering over the crowd it sways and swirls to the beat of the drums, rearing up, shaking its head as it moves through the crowd. We are standing watching only to find that suddenly we are swept into the path of the golden dragon as it loops and twists, rearing and menacing its way through the crowd as impressive fireworks explode from the dragon’s mouth showering us with flying sparks.
Following a golden dragon down Yaowarat Road in Chinatown. Image: © Vin Coffey
The rhythmic beating of the accompanying drums and the laughter and enthusiasm of the crowd make it an exciting moment to be part of such a festival. We follow the dragon along the street, as enthralled with the whole spectacle as everyone else on that warm summer night.
Later as we head back to the hotel, the Shanghai Terrace Jazz Lounge is in full swing. We manage to find a spare table. In the late evening, there is a solo jazz singer, young, dark haired, husky voiced, strumming his guitar as he sits on the podium. Waiters bring drinks to the night crowd, some are listening to the jazz singer, some are talking, and some are focused on the passing parade of people in the street. We stay on far too late to watch the night unfold afraid we will miss something if we leave.
The following morning, we breakfast in the Cotton Breakfast Restaurant, an airy light filled space, beautifully decorated in keeping with the rest of the hotel. The aroma of coffee fills the air. From our window table we are amazed to see that the road that was last night a festival of food, people and dragons, is this morning spotless. All evidence of last night’s activities has vanished.
Chinatown in any city is fascinating to explore. From any direction the sights and sounds beckon. There are markets bursting with fashion goods, shoes, accessories and much more, tea rooms where you can sample a range of exotic teas and plenty of small cafes to enjoy a traditional Chinese meal. Whatever you choose, the Shanghai Mansion in the heart of Chinatown is a captivating place to start.
Header image: © Tanawat Chantradilokrat
