Amphoe Ban Pong
Encyclopedia
Ban Pong is a district (Amphoe
Amphoe
An amphoe is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as district, amphoe make up the provinces, and are analogous to a county seat...

) of Ratchaburi Province
Ratchaburi Province
Ratchaburi is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom,Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and Phetchaburi...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. It is located in the northeast of the province.

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Tha Muang
Amphoe Tha Muang
Tha Muang is a district in the southern part of Kanchanaburi Province, central Thailand.-History:The district was established in 1898, the named Tai . Mr. Chom was the first head of district. Later people in the district moved southward to nearby Wat Si Loha Rat Bamrung then they changed the...

 and Tha Maka
Amphoe Tha Maka
Tha Maka is the southeasternmost district of Kanchanaburi Province, central Thailand.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Tha Muang, Phanom Thuan of Kanchanaburi Province, Song Phi Nong of Suphanburi Province, Kamphaeng San of Nakhon Pathom Province, and Ban Pong of Ratchaburi Province.The...

 of Kanchanaburi Province
Kanchanaburi Province
- History :Archaeology found in Kanchanaburi dates back to the 4th century which proves of trade with surrounding countries even in that time. Very little is also historically known about the actual Khmer influence in Kanchanaburi but there is evidence of their occupation with Prasat Muang Singh –...

, Kamphaeng Saen
Amphoe Kamphaeng Saen
Kamphaeng Saen is the northwesternmost district of Nakhon Pathom Province, central Thailand.-History:Kamphaeng Saen was an ancient city of the Dvaravati culture, as many stupa, vihara and ceramics were found in the area of the old city....

 and Mueang Nakhon Pathom
Amphoe Mueang Nakhon Pathom
Mueang Nakhon Pathom is the capital district of Nakhon Pathom Province, central Thailand.-History:This area was an ancient city, dating back to pre-historic times. It was the starting point of Buddhism in Dvaravati culture area....

 of Nakhon Pathom Province
Nakhon Pathom Province
Nakhon Pathom ) is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi...

, and Photharam
Amphoe Photharam
Photharam is a district in the northern part of Ratchaburi Province, central Thailand.-History:Photharam was a district of Mueang Ratchaburi in the 19th century already. In 1836 the district office was relocated from the mouth of Bang Tanod canal to the east bank of the Mae Klong river opposite...

 of Ratchaburi Province.

Banpong District is hilly in the west, while in the East there is Mea Klong River, running from Kanchanaburi through the city centre, connecting to the Gulf of Thailand.

History

During the construction of the Death Railway
Death Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Thailand–Burma Railway and similar names, was a railway between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma , built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.Forced labour was used in its construction...

 in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Ban Pong was the location of one of the POW camps.

The town had experienced two great fires which practically burnt down the whole town centre, one in 1936 and the other in 1954. After then the town was rebuilt in the square-grid design fashionable to the era, with a fountain to the South and a clock tower to the North.

Economy

Ban Pong is a railway
State Railway of Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand is the state-owned rail operator in Thailand. The network sees around 50 million passengers per annum.-History:SRT was founded as the Royal State Railways of Siam in 1890...

 hub, where the western railway leading to Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi ) is a town in the west of Thailand and the capital of Kanchanaburi province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327...

 (and further to Nam Tok) splits from the southern railway leading to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. Another branch connects with the town Suphanburi
Suphanburi
Suphan Buri is a town in central Thailand, capital of the Suphan Buri Province. It covers the whole tambon Tha Philiang and parts of the tambon Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri district...

 to the north.

As a result of high investment and fast economic development in the past decades, The town stands as one with the highest GDP per capita in Western Thailand, well above national average. It is also experiencing de-industrialisation of labour-incentive industries such as canning industry and sugar refinery which were mainly set up in 1960's - There is a large abandoned canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...

 factory in Ban Pong town. The ruined buildings are partly covered with jungle creepers - However, the town is now experiencing a boom in more highly-skilled industries such as auto-parts, petro-chemical and food industries, with more than 70% of buses and coaches in Thailand manufactured by companies in Ban Pong.

Sights

West of the town Ban Pong itself is the temple Wat Muang, which is a local centre of the Mon community.

There is also a large Roman Catholic church building
Church Building
The Church Building is located at the corner of Main and Market Streets in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, just across Market Street from the Dutchess County Court House, and north of the Bardavon Theater...

 and a large Buddhist temple.

Administration

The district is subdivided into 15 subdistricts (tambon
Tambon
Tambon is a local government unit in Thailand. Below district and province , they form the third administrative subdivision level. As of the 2009 there are 7255 tambon, not including the 169 khwaeng of Bangkok, which are set at the same administrative level, thus every district contains 8-10 tambon...

), which are further subdivided into 182 villages (muban
Muban
Muban is the lowest administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as village, they are the subdivision of tambon. As of 2008, there are 74944 administrative villages in Thailand. As of the 1990 census, the average village consisted of 144 households or 746 persons.A muban does not...

). Ban Pong
Ban Pong (town)
Ban Pong, , is the centre town of Amphoe Ban Pong in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand. It is located roughly 77 kilometers west of Bangkok.-History:...

 itself is a town (thesaban mueang) which covers the complete tambon Ban Phong. There are further five townships (thesaban tambon) including;
1.Tha Pha เทศบาลตำบลท่าผา covers the complete tambon Tha Pha and parts of Pak Raet,
2.Krachap เทศบาลตำบลกระจับ covers parts of Nong O and Don Krabueang,
3.Huai Krabok เทศบาลตำบลห้วยกระบอก covers parts of Krap Yai,
4.Krub Yai เทศบาลตำบลกรับใหญ่,
5. Berk Prai เทศบาลตำบลเบิกไพร,
and other 14 Tambon administrative organizations (TAO) are responsible for the non-municipal areas.
Nr. Name Thai name     
1. Ban Pong บ้านโป่ง 9. Nakhon Chum นครชุมน์
2. Tha Pha ท่าผา 10. Ban Muang บ้านม่วง
3. Krap Yai กรับใหญ่ 11. Khung Phayom  คุ้งพยอม
4. Pak Raet ปากแรต 12. Nong Pla Mo หนองปลาหมอ 
5. Nong Kop หนองกบ 13. Khao Khlung เขาขลุง
6. Nong O หนองอ้อ 14. Boek Phrai เบิกไพร
7. Don Krabueang  ดอนกระเบื้อง  15. Lat Bua Khao ลาดบัวขาว
8. Suan Kluai สวนกล้วย

External links

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