Thailand: Bang Kwang Chinese Temple, Nonthaburi (Chao Phraya River), north of Bangkok

By the 19th century, with the introduction of cheap steamship travel and declining conditions in China itself, a steady trickle of Chinese migrants to Thailand became a flood. Chinese coolies (from the Chinese ku-li, or 'bitter labour') sought new lives and a higher standard of living throughout Southeast Asia and beyond - even in distant California, Southern Africa and South America. It is from this time that the term 'Overseas Chinese' becomes common, though in the case of Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam it is misleading. Here there are many 'Overland Chinese' as well. As a result of this great influx of Han migrants, Bangkok - like Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon, Jakarta and of course Singapore - became increasingly Chinese cities. During the 19th century the best estimates indicate that the Chinese minority in Thailand grew from about 200,000 to nearly 800,000, or from less than 5% to almost 10% of the total. The contribution which these Chinese migrants made to the development of modern Thailand was tremendous. In a society where ambitious young Siamese might set their sights on a career in the bureaucracy or on becoming Buddhist monks, the Han were unashamedly and wholeheartedly devoted to commerce. In consequence, the Chinese acted as the driving force in building the modern sector of Thailand's economy - and of course they became very rich and influential in so doing.