The building style that defines Old Phuket Town's most photographed streets has a specific name and history: Sino-Portuguese, or "Chino-Portuguese," architecture.
Where it comes from
Wealthy Hokkien Chinese tin-mining families built these shophouses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, blending Chinese building traditions with European colonial styles picked up through trade contact with Portuguese-influenced Malacca and Penang.
What to look for
- Shophouse layout — narrow street frontage with a covered pedestrian walkway (five-foot way) running along the ground floor
- Ornate façades — decorative plasterwork, shuttered windows and pastel colours on upper floors
- Airwells — internal open-air courtyards bringing light and ventilation into deep, narrow buildings
Where to see it
Thalang Road, Dibuk Road and Krabi Road in Old Phuket Town hold the highest concentration of restored buildings, many now cafés, boutique hotels and galleries.