Trang has been a trading center since at least the 1st century AD. It grew to prosperity between the 7th and 13th centuries during the Srivijaya period and remains an important commercial town today. Rubber, palm oil, and fishing are the mainstays of its economy. Tourism has not yet made much impact, although this may change if Trang’s Andaman islands start to be more intensively developed.

The town has a strong Chinese character (and good Chinese restaurants) as a result of an influx of immigrant labor in the latter half of the 19th century. Trang’s Vegetarian Festival, mirroring its better[1]known counterpart on the island of Phuket , is renowned for the intensity of its ascetic rites, which include body piercing.

A monument to Khaw Sim Bee Na-Ranong, the first governor of Trang from 1890 to 1901, stands in the Fitness Park at the eastern end of Phatthalung Road. The statue attracts many merit-makers, especially on April 10, the day dedicated to the former governor. The Clarion MP Hotel is notable for being partially built in the shape of an ocean liner.

Environs

Trang province was dependent on tin mining until the first rubber tree seedlings were brought into Thailand around 1901. The first rubber tree can still be seen in Kantang, 14 miles (22 km) southwest of Trang, near a small museum dedicated to Khaw Sim Bee Na-Ranong. Boats run from Kantang to many of the nearby islands.