Abstract

This study analyzes the Lhong 1919 Mazu Temple in Bangkok, which is a place-based cultural learning environment in an urban heritage context. The article shifts focus from viewing heritage sites solely through lenses of preservation, tourism, or religious value, highlighting instead their potential as informal learning spaces where individuals engage with history, culture, and a sense of belonging. The study adopts a qualitative case study methodology, utilizing on-site observations, documentary sources, visual data, and scholarly research to examine the ways in which the Lhong 1919 Mazu Temple fosters cultural learning, enhances place identity, and promotes social integration within a diverse urban environment. The findings indicate that the educational value of the site is attributed to four interconnected processes: it facilitates historical learning by coexisting material heritage and living sacred practice; it cultivates place identity through repeated symbolic and spatial interactions; it supports intercultural understanding by translating culturally specific religious heritage into public accessible forms, while preserving its distinctiveness; and it contributes to social integration by offering recurring opportunities for shared participation, which can be weak in social ties, and community-oriented public benefit. This study enhances educational research by broadening the scope of discussions on place-based and informal learning, shifting the focus from formal educational settings to urban religious heritage sites. The Lhong 1919 Mazu Temple should be recognized not merely as a religious site or heritage landmark, but as a dynamic cultural learning space that continually fosters cultural memory, a sense of urban belonging, and social connections.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.