Chinese Brothels

The first brothel district was established in Bangkok by Chinese immigrants and initially, only Chinese women worked as prostiutes there. Prostitution gradually spread from these 'green lantern' districts to Chinese neighbourhoods throughout Thailand. They can now be found in just about every village, town and city throughout the Thai kingdom. Nowadays, the prostitutes themselves come from every ethnic background, even Russia and central Europe. Prostitution was declared illegal in the 1950s. Today there remain over 200 000 women offering sex services in Thailand.