Poh Teck Tung Foundation

A short walk from the much-visited Wat Mangkon Kamalawat is Wat Kanikapon, built in the late 19th century. Certainly off the beaten path, if it is known by travellers, then it is because the temple was founded by a brothel owner. The dark green tiles decorate that the window frames bear resemblance to the green curtains used in the brothels that once thrived in Yaowarat (in Thailand, green was used to designate brothels in a similar way as red was used to designate brothels in the West). Next to the ubosot in a smaller viharn housing a Western-looking Buddha image.

On the list of every Yaowarat visitor, you will be amazed by the impressive multi-tiered gateway when you enter the temple. It is a Mahayana Buddhist temple, the school of Buddhism followed by most Chinese, and it has mixed with other Chinese practices like Confucianism and Taoism. It was built in 1871 in the traditional Teochew architectural style. There are plenty of statues and shrines inside. Most interesting is the part right after the second entrance. Four golden statues will greet you, each with a symbolic object: a parasol, a pagoda, a snake's head, and a mandolin. It is one of Chinatown's liveliest temples with many Thai-Chinese praying and burning incense.

One of the larger and more open Chinese shrines in Bangkok, you'll not find many other travellers here. This Taoist temple has a large roof with plenty of smaller shrines. As typical in Chinese shrines, the roof features two dragons that play with a pearl. The building next to the temple features a large shrine, which just like the Thien Fa Foundation, is dedicated to Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.

As with the other foundations and medical centres in the area, this charity also has an impressive shrine known as the Guang Dong Shrine (ปูชนียสถานมณฑลกวางตุ้ง). This 130-year old shrine was built in a traditional Chinese style and used to be a meeting place of overseas Chinese from the Guangdong region in China. It was built mostly with construction materials and Buddha images from their homeland.

This shrine, housed in a traditionally Chinese-style building is considered to be the oldest Chinese shrine in Thailand. This claim is based on the plaque inside with a Chinese inscription that states that the shrine was built in 1658. That year corresponds to the Ayutthaya period, far before Bangkok became the capital of the country. During all these years, Chinese businessmen in the area came to the shrine for refuge and to improve the prosperity of their businesses. The roof is made of glazed coloured tiles with two ceramic-clad dragons on top. The two main columns beside the entrance also both feature a ceramic-clad dragon. Inside there is a shrine dedicated to Leng Buai Ia and his wife in the centre, a shrine dedicated to the deity Going-Wu on the left and a shrine dedicated to the Queen of Heaven on the right.

This third-class royal temple dates from 1848, the reign of King Rama III. The temple was the project of chief commander Chao Phraya Bodindecha, who led Siam to victory in the wars against Vietnam and Cambodia. He designated his house and the surrounding land as a site for a new temple, which he called "War Victory Temple" as a commemoration to his victories. It is a relatively large temple complex with an enshrined Buddha inside the main building.