Tha Chalom

Tha Chalom is a historic riverside community in Tha Chalom Subdistrict, Mueang Samut Sakhon District, Samut Sakhon Province, located on the west bank of the Tha Chin River opposite Mahachai. Established as a Chinese fishing and trading settlement since the Ayutthaya period, it became Thailand's first sanitary district (Sukhaphiban) in 1906. It is notable for preserved shophouses, street art, temples, and the Ban Laem Railway terminus.

Visitors can expect a compact, walkable historic fishing community with narrow streets lined with old wooden and concrete shophouses, colorful street art murals depicting local life, small Chinese shrines and Thai temples such as Wat Laem Suwannaram and Wat Sutthiwat Wararam. The area centers around the Ban Laem Railway Station and ferry pier connecting to Mahachai, with seafood shops, local eateries, and views of the Tha Chin River and fishing boats.

Tha Chalom was a Chinese fishing and trading settlement dating to the Ayutthaya period and grew as a sea-trade port at the mouth of the Tha Chin River. In 1906, during King Rama VI's reign, it was established as Sukhaphiban Tha Chalom, the first sanitary district in Thailand, considered the foundation of modern local administration. The Maeklong Railway line connecting Ban Laem to Maeklong opened in 1905.

The community reflects a long-standing Chinese-Thai fishing culture with traditional shophouses, Chinese shrines, Thai Buddhist temples, and a continuing fishing port identity. It preserves local maritime traditions, railway heritage, and community street art that interprets local history and daily life.