The Insistence, Coping, and Adaptation of the Tha-Chin Riverside Market Communities

Abstract

This qualitative research aimed to study the dynamics of change and analyze conditions and factors for the survival of the Tha Chin Riverside Market communities. There were 3 groups of 81 key informants, i.e., 1) 27 government sectors, 2) 27 private sectors, and 3) 27 communities, using the snowball technique. Data were collected using document analysis, observation (the observation form), and interviews (the interview form), and the data were analyzed using content analysis. The research results were as follows: 1) The Tha Chin Riverside Market communities had mostly residents who were Thai-Chinese who had immigrated. Them's houses were two-story wooden shophouses facing each other that were more than a hundred years old; on the ground floor there were shops, and currently still inheriting Chinese culture that was the combination of various cultures spread through technology; 2) the dynamics of standing, defending, and adapting the communities were divided into 2 eras: the port era (1916–1996), which was the center for exchanging goods by boat from inside and outside the communities; and the city travel era (1997–2023), which was a place for buying and selling products according to the way of life of people in the communities that still maintains the culture and architecture. There were changes to the tourist attraction; and 3) conditions and factors for the existence of the Tha Chin Riverside Market communities were: leaders' abilities, communities’ participation, knowledge management, and cultural capital.