GreenBkk Scoop | Mountain of Peace

Mountain of Peace

This Chinatown of Doi Mae Salong holds a fascinating piece of history within its embrace

What is a Chinatown like without big neon signs and the constant cacophony of traffic and heavy crowds?

The answer to that question lies in the village of Santi Khiri, a Chinese community whose name translates as ''Mountain of Peace''.

Perched on the ridge of Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai, Ban Santi Khiri is one of the largest of the Chinese settlements scattered across northern Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son.

Unlike the Chinatown in Bangkok or in other big cities around the world, which were established by traders and workers, this one in Chiang Rai was founded decades ago by the displaced Koumintang's 93rd Division which fled Yunnan in southwestern China after Mao Zedong's People's Liberation Army took control of the country in 1949.

Battling communists, these troops retreated southwards and for many years struggled in the rugged mountain terrains of northern Burma and Laos until the KMT government was pressured by the international community to evacuate soldiers of the ''Lost Army'' to Taiwan in 1954 and again in 1961.

However, thousands of soldiers under the commands of Gen Tuan Shi-wen and Gen Lee Wen-huan decided to relocate to the Thai side of the border instead and continue their fight from there. In time they lost financial support from their government. To survive, some of them resorted to illegal means including drug trade.

In 1969, after an agreement with Taiwan, the KMT remnants were allowed to settle down in Thailand, and they returned this favour by fighting alongside the Thai army battling communist insurgency during the '70s and early '80s.

In 1978 they were made bona fide residents of Thailand and many were granted citizenship. Their community in Doi Mae Salong was bestowed the name Santi Khiri.

With support from the Thai government and organisations in Taiwan, they began cultivating tea, peach and other temperate-climate fruits, the economic mainstay of Ban Santi Khiri residents today. Living conditions and education improved over time and their descendants these days are fluent in Thai as well as Chinese.

With such fascinating history and culture, no wonder tourists are attracted to this Chinatown in the mountains. The past two decades, Ban Santi Khiri has been one of Chiang Rai's prime attractions. On weekends and public holidays during the cool season, which is peak tourist time in the North, tea shops and restaurants here are usually packed with visitors arriving in vanloads.

But a 300-metre crack in the main road winding through the community, the result of a week-long downpour late in September, somewhat dented the mood this year and many travel agents had reportedly cancelled tours to this highland Chinatown.

But concerned agencies have been working hard to repair the damage and map out plans to prevent land subsidence in next year's rainy season. And now that we are into dry months perhaps we can lay to rest any lingering doubts about landslides or further road damage.

With less crowd, this is probably the best high season in many years to visit the ''Mountain of Peace.''

❖ As you can see from this map, Ban Santi Khiri can be reached either from the east or from the south. If you have no private vehicle, first take a ‘songthaeo’ mini-bus from Mae Chan to Kew Satai where you’ll find another of its kind that will take you all the way to the mountaintop Chinatown.

❖ For more information, call Mae Salong Nok Tambon Administration at 053-765-409 or visit www.maesalongnok.go.th.

❖ Apart from the Buddhist style stupa built in memory of the late HRH the Princess Mother, Ban Santi Khiri also has a mosque and a Christian church. Like elsewhere in Thailand, the people here live together in harmony despite their different religious faiths.

❖ At the Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum, located at the southern end of the Ban Santi Khiri, you’ll learn not only about the story of the displaced warriors from China who founded the mountain community here but also about the political situation in this part of the Kingdom during the ’70s and the ’80s. Above all as you look at the old photos and read the information boards displayed in the museum, you’ll realise how much the people here love their new homeland, a feeling that contrasts with what we saw earlier this year when fellow Thais burned parts of the capital.

 

 

❖ If you drive to Ban Santi Khiri from the east you’ll pass this three-way intersection where police and soldiers are stationed. If you choose to stray off to Ban Thoed Thai, be prepared to have your car searched by the officers when you come back. The reason is that drug trafficking is still a problem in the area.

❖ The tomb of the revered General Tuan Shi-wen, leader of the KMT troops that settled down here decades ago, graces a peak overlooking the mountaintop Chinatown that today is home to their descendants.

❖ A culture can’t be truly appreciated if you can’t taste it. The founders of Ban Santi Khiri brought from southern China not just an ideology and rifles but also the way of life and recipes of Yunnanese delicacies which you can enjoy at the community’s many restaurants. Go for the locals’ favourites and try them all if you can.

 

❖ ‘Black’ chicken and much of the vegetables used at local restaurants were raised and grown by small-scale farmers who live in the community and outlying areas. Here, it’s easy to see how your tourist money trickles down to the people at grass-roots level.

 

❖ Horses and mules used to play a big role in the lives of the people here. These days, pickup trucks and motorcycles have replaced them as the preferred modes of transportation. However, these animals are still around in the community and their new task is to ride tourists around.

 

❖ You haven’t been to Ban Santi Khiri if you haven’t tried their tea. The Chinese community here is a big producer of Oolong and other tea varieties, much of which are exported to Taiwan, China, Europe and the Middle East. Many tea plantations are also open to tourists keen to learn more about the plant that spawned one of the world’s most popular beverages.

 

 

❖ A number of hotels and guesthouses are available at Ban Santi Khiri. The one shown here, dating back to 1970, claims to be the oldest. If offers rooms and bungalows which cost from 100-400 baht per night.

❖ With an economy spurred largely by tea and tourism, big buildings are rising in the ridgetop town. Some have expressed doubts whether the soil on these slopes would be stable enough to support these heavy structures during heavy rain. There was even a suggestion that the entire community be relocated to minimise damage and loss of life in case of an earthquake.

❖ Lichens grow only in places free of air pollution. On the hills of Doi Mae Salong they are a common sight on tree and rocks. That tells a lot about the air quality here.