Thai-Chinese Cultural Center

The Thai-Chinese Cultural Center has become one of Udon Thani’s most prominent inner city landmarks in recent years. Isaan has a strong Chinese heritage and here the culture is preserved. Amphanitgun whom I have visited at his home studio runs a heritage program here and is responsible for handcrafting the dragon’s they use for ceremonial dances and parades. This year marks year of the Golden Dragon and to celebrate the event a project to build an 18 meter (6 story) high dragon statue flanked by two roaring waterfalls has begun. With projected costs of 20 million Baht (around half a million US dollars) and due to be completed in 18 months time, it is a project that is made not only in the hopes of luring tourists to the heart of the city but also as a landmark to put Udon Thani back on the map. I mused over how I was going to edit the images captured but fell on Koadchrome-esque slide look for the colour & pushed Tri-X look for the monochrome, both reminiscent of late seventies reportage photography that to me fit the heritage theme well.