Phuket History of Phuket Museum
A guide to the History of Phuket! Visit Get-Packing.com for Phuket History and read up-to-date information, reviews and articles on Phuket art and museums...
Originally known as Ko Thalang, and inhabited by the semi nomadic Chao Leh for thousands of years, the island of Phuket rose to regional prominence as an important trading centre on the route between China and India, and also a fishing centre. A culture developed that mixed the South of Thailand and influences from China and Portugal, and by the 16th century, a town called Bukit developed as a mining centre on the south coast of the island.
Through the 19th century, many immigrants arrived into the island to work in the tin mines, and then at the beginning of the 20th century, the first rubber plantations opened, and have since seen Thailand develop into the worlds largest producer of rubber.
The island has developed more than many other parts of the country, as it is connected to the mainland by bridge, and when the airport opened in 1976, the beautiful beaches and perfect climate quickly saw the island develop a reputation as one of the best tourism destinations in the region.
At first hotels were little more than beach huts with a minimum of facilities, but since those early days, many large hotel developments have sprung up along various beaches and offer a much higher standard of accommodation that the early tourists enjoyed.
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