5000 years of Chinese History @ Dragon Descendants Museum (Suphan Buri Province, Thailand)
Museum of the Descendants of the Dragon (Suphan Buri Province, Thailand)
After visiting some of the main attractions such as Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, The Bridge on the River Kwai, JEATH War Museum etc in Kanchanaburi Province, I travelled to Suphan Buri Province with a hope to visit one of the latest major attractions in Thailand - Museum of the Descendants of the Dragon opened on Christmas Eve (24th December 2008) before continued my journey to Chainat Province. Unfortunately, all free admission tickets had been snapped up:-( I spent rest of the day exploring one of the most beautiful city pillar shrines (Lak Mueang (Thai: หลักเมือง)) in Thailand. I will share about it later.
The Entrance @ Museum of the Descendants of the Dragon
The 300 million THB museum is built in a shape of a huge fiberglass cloud dragon spraying water measuring 135m long, 35m high and 18 m wide next to the city pillar shrine. It is beautifully and elegantly constructed and the brightly coloured dragon looks alive as if it just descended from heaven to usher in the New Year. It is the second wonder that I had ever seen in Thailand. The first was the Mingmongkol Buddha image located on the hill in Phuket. The heavenly beast is visible from a distance in the city and it took 10 years of planning. Khun Banharn Silpa-archa used to be the prime minister of Thailand back in 1996, he decided that he would build a unique museum to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the People’s Republic of China and Thailand since 1995.
5000 years of Chinese history @ Museum of the Descendants of the Dragon
I was given permission to take some photos at the reception lobby but not the interior. Using the latest interactive computer technology, it focuses on 5000 years history of Chinese civilization and the migration of Chinese clans from China to neighbouring countries such as Thailand, where they established their roots and successful business empires delicated to the education benefit of the future generations and forever promote the good relationship between China and Thailand. Guided tour starts every hour between 10.00am and 4.00pm and each tour only cater to 20-25 pax and last about an hour or more. Visitors are given a pair of disposable grocery plastic bags to wear over their feet before entering the rooms. There is a total of 20 multimedia rooms and each room tells an exciting story. The night before, there was an exclusive preview of the museum and an interview with Khun Banharn Silpa-archa on the national TV and it gave me a better view of the new attraction. The journey begins from the creation of the earth to wonderful legends and beautiful myths and extracted moral stories on historical figures like Justice Bao, Cheng Ho, Yue Fei and so on from the various dynasties in 5000 years of Chinese history. My advice is to stay close to the group because the door of each room is automatic. A child was left behind at the entrance.
With the generosity and support of the local business and community, the museum is completed in 600 amazing days and a new city icon for Suphan Buri Province and I am proud to be one of the Descendants of the Dragon too.
The City Pillar Shrine next to Museum of the Descendants of the Dragon (Suphan Buri Province, Thailand)
Admission Charges:
Thai Adult (299 THB) and Foreigner (499 THB)
Thai Child (149 THB) and Foreigner (299 THB)
Open from Wednesday to Sunday and also on public holidays.
Getting There:
The shortest route is 100km from Bangkok. Take the provincial highway 340 BKK-Suphan Buri
For more information :
TAT Suphan Buri Office, Tel. 66 (0) 3553 6030
TAT Call Center 1672
Dragon Descendants Museum (Suphan Buri Province, Thailand)
