History:

The Chinese have a long history of migration to various areas. Overseas Chinese have a lengthy tradition of traveling. A clear example of this would be the travels of Cheng Ho, a General from the Ming dynasty. He was a famous navigator in Chinese history who led a Chinese army to explore the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Chinese began to migrate and settle in new lands. After the Qing dynasty, China’s political system experienced instability. The villagers began to suffer from starvation. Families that were once wealthy were now impoverished, and they were about to resist the political system. Hence, they frequently organize revolutions.

A group of Chinese people therefore decided to move to a new, more fertile land. Especially the Chinese people from the Southern part of China, such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, and Hainan, which are old parts of cities bordered by the sea.

Since before the Sukhothai Kingdom, the Chinese have been trading with Thailand, and they have had good relations throughout every era. The Chinese began to immigrate in large numbers during the Thonburi era and the beginning of the Rattanakosin era. Many Chinese immigrants were called ‘Xinkhae’ in the Hokkien language, which means newcomer. Certain groups of Chinese individuals have decided to establish themselves in the central region of Thailand. Some of them traveled to the ports of Singapore, Malaka, and Penang, then continued to the south of Thailand. Subsequently, they arrived in Tugkha (formerly known as Phuket Province)

The majority of Chinese immigrants who settled in Tugkha were comprised of Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan, and Teochew. Initially, the Chinese were employed as tin mining laborers. Later on, the number of Chinese immigrants was higher in Tugkha. The Chinese were hardworking and patient. They are taught how to save money and build it up until they become wealthy. Several of them became millionaires and were able to send money back to their hometowns to help their families. It was common to see that some of them were destitute. Some were addicted to opium or alcohol and became beggars on the street. Chinese immigrants settled in Tugkha; they married the local women. Later, there were descendants known as ‘Baba’.

Tugkha Town, which was home to Chinese immigrants at that time, was divided into many communities. One community was considered to be very prosperous, which was the Tua Pho community. It was situated in close proximity to the major components of numerous cargo vessels. This area was home to residents, merchants who opened businesses, and wealthy families. Since this area was a commercial area, many people came to shop and do business in large numbers. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are also many entertainment shops in this area.

Hang Alai, also known as Soi Romani, is widely regarded as a place of entertainment for young men. In the past, there were Chinese opera houses, theaters, opium shops, pubs, bars, and brothels to accommodate men who had finished their business and came here to have fun.

The Chinese opera troupe named Go Ga Hee traveled from Hokkien, China, to inaugurate the performance for Chinese immigrants who had migrated to foreign lands. They chose the community area as a location to build an opera house. The show attracted a significant number of viewers, resulting in a substantial revenue stream. The opera troupe chose Hang A Lai as their opera house and has begun to perform the show since then. According to the tradition of the opera troupe of the ninth month, members must attend a vegetarian festival. They were required to pray in order to worship the gods, including ‘Kiew Ong Tai Te’ (九皇大帝; Jiǔ huáng dàdì), who wished for a better fate or lucky fate. This tradition must be strictly adhered to, regardless of the community the opera troupe moves to. However, it was only performed within the group of the opera troupe. Later, the people of Tugkha or Phuket, realized that eating vegetables and praying for blessings were good things. So There were also some local people who participated in the eating of vegetables. Over time, it became a vegetarian festival, which was influenced by the members of the Chinese opera troupe and became a community tradition.

Normally, Chinese opera troupes do not have a fixed address, but travel to communities with large populations to perform the show, the Chinese opera troupe “Ko Ka Hee” saw a better way to make money, so they moved elsewhere. Before moving, they considered that the people of Tugkha or Phuket had faith and participated in a vegetarian festival for a period of time. And they expected that the practice would continue, so they gave the town the sacred objects and equipment for the festival. The villagers of the town helped and worked together to build a shrine to be used for the vegetarian festival and ceremony.

Within a short time, a fire broke out at the shrine at Hang Alai for an unknown reason. The local populace attempted to extinguish the flames. During this event, a group of people, including Mr. Sui Tin, the village headman, Mr. Jia Ki Tek, Mr. Soon, and others, went up to the shrine to get incense ash and move important belongings to the hillside ‘Peng Yong San’ Jui Tui Community to escape the fire. They brought some belongings and left them at Pud jor Shrine, while others were left at the small hut next to the shrine for storage only. When the ninth month approached, a small thatched-roof wooden building was temporarily built in the garden next to the shrine to start the vegetarian festival, as was done in the past. The festival was over, the building was dismantled, and this had been done for 3 years. After that, the owner of the land agreed to build a permanent shrine. The land has changed hands many times. It was originally the land of the mother of Mr. Koy Kuan Siew, then transferred to Mr. Koy Kuan Siew. After that, it was given to Mr. Thong Sae Seu. When Mr. Thong’s death occurred, the land became the property of Mrs. Siew Bee Saeseu. In the end, the land was purchased from the shrine for 1,300,000 baht by Mr. Cheng Siw, who was the main contributor. The first shrine was a 20-square-meter wooden roof called ‘Jui Tui Tao Bo Geng,’ which was the starting point of ‘Jui Tui Tao Bo Geng.’ Afterward, more villagers began to participate in the vegetarian festival. The shrine needed to be expanded on the left and right sides by 75 square meters. The former shrine bore a resemblance to the present one. However, it was constructed of wood and featured a thatched roof.

During 2502 B.E., they were seeking for mediums for the shrine. At that time, there were 3 mediums. The spirit mediums congregated at the shrine to present an enchanting performance. Mr. Tan Aiw Hok (Uncle Kwaai), he asked the three spirit mediums to write down the numbers; if any spirit medium could correctly tell the lottery numbers, they would be promoted to the position of the spirit medium of the shrine. Mr. Kim, one of the spirit mediums, gave the correct number, so he was promoted to the spirit medium position of the shrine. ‘Huad Gua Goy Eiw’ won the lottery from that number, donated his money to the shrine, and changed the thatched roof to a zinc roof in 2503 B.E. He also wrote down 925 with red on the roof.

About 2510 B.E., the larger statues (Jin Shen) were brought into the shrine both from devotees who made offerings and from the shrine’s own money to build them. The arrival of Jin Shen (large statues) led to the shrine being ‘packed’ in 2523 B.E. Due to the size of the space, Mr. Poon (Mr. Soontorn Jirapattanasopon) the chairman of the project, decided to expand the building of the shrine to accommodate the amount and size of statues. He raised enough funds to renovate the shrine into the current marble shrine.

Mr. Poon played a major role in arranging funds by asking locals, and he also traveled to obtain funds from businessmen in Bangkok. He commissioned a Chinese craftsman from Bangkok to draw up the current shrine’s blueprints and to build the entire construction.

After the fire burned down, the old shrine was relocated to a new location. The shrine was reconstructed into the beautiful shrine it is today. The shrine is impressive in terms of architecture, culture, and traditions. It serves as the epicenter of Thai-Chinese art and great faith, and will remain so forever.