Bangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔːn] ( listen)), or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep ( (listen) (help·info), meaning "City of the Deity") for short, it was a small trading post at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It came to the forefront of Siam when it was given the status as the capital city in 1768 after the burning of Ayutthaya.
When the red shirt leaders decided to occupy the Ratchaprasong intersection on April 3, no one expected that this large commercial district in central Bangkok, with exclusive shopping malls and five-star hotels, would be closed for long. It is estimated that shops in the area have lost up to 300 million baht a day during the red occupation
The red shirt protest has also affected hundreds of other small businesses located within a three square kilometre area. Many small shops face bankruptcy and closure, with thousands of employees losing their jobs and livelihoods.
So how did this "Red City" in the heart of the capital come to be, with its own infrastructure and services able to feed and accommodate tens of thousands of protesters every day?
Thousands of red shirt supporters from all over Thailand - as well as Bangkok - filled the primitively fortified Ratchaprasong rally area and adjacent roads, transforming it into a fortress.
Major roads were barricaded to control access, and people and vehicles were searched by red shirt guards and even ex-paramilitary rangers wearing dark uniforms
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