Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Road is one of the best looking and well-maintained Sino-Portuguese buildings in Phuket. This recently renovated building was at one stage a Chinese-language school. These days it is used as a museum, exhibition space and an occasional function hall.
In 2008, the Thai Hua Museum was given an award in the category of constitutional and public buildings by the Siam Architect Association under the King’s patronage for its outstanding role in conserving architectural arts.
The Thai Hua Museum features a charming inner courtyard, which is open to the sky. It is considered one of the highlights of this type of Sino-Portuguese structure as the courtyard helps air the house, especially during summertime. It also has a lovely garden that exhibits large and heavy tools and machines from Phuket’s tin-mining years.
There are more than a dozen interesting exhibition rooms and short films in Thai and Chinese with English subtitles on both floors of the museum. Overall, the Museum does well in explaining Phuket’s history through many different angles with explanations about the Phuket-China connection, Thai Hua as the first Chinese-language school in Phuket, the Sino-Portuguese buildings on the island and Phuket’s traditional ceremonies, as well as its local cuisine.