Ancient Siam

Ancient Siam, also known as Ancient City or Mueang Boran, is the world's largest outdoor museum located in Bang Pu Mai, Mueang Samut Prakan, Samut Prakan Province. Covering about 320 hectares shaped to resemble Thailand's geography, it features more than 100 scaled replicas and reconstructed monuments, palaces, temples and traditional villages representing Thailand's regional architecture and heritage.

Visitors can explore a vast landscaped park laid out in the shape of Thailand containing over 100 replicas and reconstructed historical structures including temples, palaces, chedis, floating markets and traditional houses. The site is explored on foot, by bicycle, golf cart or tram. Areas include recreated historical parks, religious monuments, and cultural villages with exhibits on Thai architecture, art and daily life, surrounded by gardens, lakes and open grounds.

Conceived by Thai businessman and philanthropist Lek Viriyaphant (1914-2000), construction began in 1963 and the park opened in stages from 1972. It was created to preserve and showcase Thailand's architectural heritage and historical monuments, many of which were deteriorating or at risk, by building scaled replicas and reconstructing significant structures with assistance from experts and the Fine Arts Department.

The park serves as a cultural education centre presenting Thai history, architecture, religion and regional traditions in one location. It displays replicas of important Buddhist temples, royal palaces, Khmer sanctuaries and vernacular houses from all regions of Thailand, allowing visitors to appreciate the diversity of Thai art and craftsmanship and traditional ways of life.