Thailand

The Hall of Opium Museum is an exhibition museum located in the Golden Triangle Park in Chiang Saen, in the province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. This hall contains the long and varied history of opium, from the history of the Golden Triangle to the origin of opium, the wars it caused, the traders in the market, as well as the history of the struggle against opium and poppy cultivation. The Hall of Opium Museum is therefore an inspiration for its visitors, as opium was originally used as a medical treatment before being sold on the market as a hard drug. This museum is worth visiting because its existence reflected not only medical benefits but also social consequences leading to war.

History of the Opium Museum

The interactive museum The Hall of Opium Museum would never have come into being without the Golden Triangle connecting three countries (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar). From 1920 to 1965, this border region (the Golden Triangle) was the main producer of opium in all of Asia, with its poppy plantations. These made the kingdom very well known as the kingdom of white gold.

The very first references to opium were seen in some Sumerian medical formulas. Initially used for medicinal purposes in ancient Greece, opium began to spread throughout Europe and into America. The effects of this product led consumers to abuse it until it became a real drug.

The interest of the Chinese and the British in Opium led them to go to war.

Opium reached the kingdom of Siam via Chinese migrants, who then owned some stocks from China. The opium trade was booming, and Thailand was designated as a hub for this still-legal traffic at the time. Immense poppy cultivation and plantations were then seen throughout the Golden Triangle.

Visiting the Opium Museum

The Hall of Opium Museum was built on a mountain that is only accessible through a 137-meter-long tunnel. The Opium Museum extends over more than 25 hectares, and there are many zones to explore.

In the entrance zone, you can see a dark tunnel leading directly to the artificial poppy fields in the hall zone. This is a specialized zone for artificial poppies, where visitors can learn about the different types of poppy flowers. Then there is the Siam Zone, which is dedicated to a model of a Chinese tea house in Yaowarat and the history of the origin of opium in the Kingdom of Siam. You can then visit the magical medicine zone, which is dedicated to the science behind the development of morphine and heroin. And finally, the final zone is the zone of the effects of opium, showing the negative impact of drugs and addiction on individuals and society. After outlining the different zones of the hall, let's take a look at some museum exhibits.

Although the walk in the 5,600-square-meter museum takes some time, the exhibits will captivate you. Exhibits include scenes of gun battles during the opium wars and the destructive effects of opium on the human body.

How to get there?

To reach the town of Chiang Saen, the ideal way is to travel from Chiang Rai. You will find the bus station in the city center of Chiang Rai. You can take one of the old yellow buses that will take one or two hours, depending on the number of stops. However, you can also opt for the connection via songthaew (shared taxi) from Mae Sai (the northernmost district of Chiang Rai province), just an hour's journey away.