Santichon Chinese Village: A Cultural Spot to Visit from Pai

Santichon Chinese Village is a built-for-tourism town dedicated to the Yunnan people who have settled in the hills of Nothern Thailand. I visited after watching the sunrise at Yun Lai Viewpoint, which is located immediately next to the village. At Santichon, you can wander around the (newly built) Chinese castle, sample traditional Yunnan foods, ride a crazy man-powered swing, and dress up like a prince or princess for a fairytale photo shoot. Is it touristy? Yes, it’s a theme park after all – Keep in mind that proceeds from the village help support the local community.

What You Can Do at Santichon Village 

Buy Yunnan Products 

While we were at Santichon we bought all different types of Yunnanese preserved plum candy, and considered purchasing one of the bottles of funky-flavored wine they had on display. The wines all seemed to be home-brewed and made with love, I’m considering going back for a bottle! 

Try on Chinese Princess Outfits 

The second most popular activity at Santichon is to rent a traditional Chinese princess outfit and dress up for a photo shoot on a prop bridge. They also had outfits for little kids, both boys and girls, but I didn’t see any Chinese prince costumes (sorry guys!). 

Ride the Famous Yunnan Swing 

I’m not sure whether to call this a “swing” or “Ferris wheel”, but you’ll see these all over the highlands of Northern Thailand (and they’re just as crazy as they look). The multi-tiered swing is the star of the show at Santicon Village, and you can pay 50 baht per person to be swung around on it – Powered by 4 people pushing. 

I rode the swing with my friend when we went, I thought it would be more scary to ride but it was a relaxed ride, just different from any other swing I’ve experienced. Towards the end though, one of the guys pushing asked ‘okay, can we go fast now?” and I saw that they had been really holding back with the speed-power. You do get strapped in with a seat belt, so this swing isn’t as dangerous as it looks! 

Go to the Street Market

Across the street from the cultural village is a market selling foods that mostly the locals frequent. We got breakfast here – It was mostly simple food, but totally different from the street food at the Pai Night Bazaar in town. They were mostly selling dry-roasted snacks at Santichon. I had my first hot roasted Chesnut from an old metal wok full of what looked like black pebbles. 

Try Your Hand at Archery 

They have small archery stations as one of the paid activities at Santichon. I did a bit of archery on Pai’s Bamboo Bridge as well, it’s fun if you’ve never tried before!

How to Get There from Pai

The easiest way to get to Santichon Village is to rent a scooter and drive yourself, or ride pillion with someone who drives a scooter. Unfortunately, there’s no Grab (Thailand’s version of Uber) in Pai, and taxis hailed from the street are uncommon. 

There will also be group van tours that depart frequently from Pai and visit Yun Lai Viewpoint and Santichon, as well as a handful of other iconic Pai activities such as the Big White Buddha and Yun Lai Viewpoint. You can book these tours from a stall at the Pai Walking Market or through your hotel or hostel. If you don’t want to drive yourself, and you also don’t want to join a group tour, you can always hire a private driving service for the day to take you around. 

My Tips for Visiting

• Visit After Watching the Sunrise at Yun Lai Viewpoint: Santichon is best coupled with a trip to Yun Lai Viewpoint, which has one of the best sunrise spots in Pai. 
• Consider Visiting Ban Rak Thai Chinese Village: If you have a bit more time, I recommend visiting Ban Rak Thai Chinese village, which is a 3-hour drive from Pai. It’s more of a time commitment, but the village is much larger. 
• Come Hungry: Trying all the snacks at the village was my favorite part of the trip.
• Know it’s Quite Small: I wouldn’t budget to spend more than an hour at Santichon Village, it’s best visited grouped with other activities.