Chin Pracha House

Chin Pracha House or Baan Chinpracha is a fine example of a Sino-colonial style mansion. The house has been used as a filming location for Thai and western movies, including Oliver Stone’s "Heaven & Earth" from 1993 and the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The movie "Heaven & Earth" is a superb film by Oliver Stone about the Vietnam War and its consequences. Based on a true story written by Le Ly Hayslip, the plot relates the life of a young Vietnamese woman and her march through the horrors of history, from Vietnam to America and back.

The house was built in 1903 by Pratipak Chinpracha, a family originating from the Fujian region of China and who migrated to Phuket at the time of tin mining. This type of architecture was called ‘Angmor Lounge style’ by Phuket people at that time. The house is partially open for the public. You can see the kitchen and the ground floor area. Vintage Italian floor tiles, some original furniture that was imported from Europe and China, and many old pictures. One of Baan Chinpracha’s most attractive features is the inner courtyard, which opens up to the sky. In the old days, this central open area was the heart of Sino-Colonial style houses. You would find the women of the house chatting while cooking or doing laundry. It was also, in a sense, the lungs of the house, allowing air to flow through. The large kitchen has old-style stoves, clay cooking pots, brass pans and kettles as well as kerosene lamps. There are quite a few food carriers, called pinto in Thai. This item is an important part of Southeast Asian food culture. People often use it as a lunchbox and to transport fresh home-cooked food when visiting friends and family. You can also see locals carrying a pinto on their way to the temple, when they donate food to the monks in the morning.