Chinatown, Kuching
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Chinatown is located at Padungan road,
Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
,
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The most notable streets in the Chinatown are Main Bazaar and Carpenter Street.


History

Early transportation in
South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
were heavily dependent on rivers. Therefore, Chinese settlers usually named the first street near the river as "Hai Gan Street" (海乾街) which means "at the edge of river/sea". However, Hai Chun Street (海唇街, meaning lips of the sea) was given for the first street in Kuching (now popularly known as "Main Bazaar") near
Sarawak River The Sarawak River ( ms, Sungai Sarawak) is a river in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is an important source of water and transportation for the inhabitants in southwestern Sarawak. The river is also used for water-related sport activities such as the annu ...
. It is the oldest street in Kuching. Wharves and jetties can be found nearby the street for loading and unloading of goods.
Hong San Si Temple zh, 鳳山寺 , image = Hong San Si Temple 04.jpg , caption = , location = Kuching , coordinates = , religious_affiliation = Taoism , district = Kuching District , state ...
(鳳山寺) is located in the east while the Old Court House is located in the western part of the street. In 1839, while Sarawak was still under the
Bruneian Empire Bruneian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Brunei * A person from Brunei, or of Bruneian descent. For information about the Bruneian people, see Demographics of Brunei and Culture of Brunei. For specific Bruneians, see List of Bruneians. ...
administration, the area was inhabited by only a few households while the surroundings were covered by forests. According to official Chinese documents, there were about 20 Chinese pioneers managing vegetable farms at Satok area. After
James Brooke Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was bor ...
took Sarawak (present day
Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
) from the Bruneian Empire, security in the area improved. This has attracted an influx of Chinese immigrants into this place. The earliest settlers in the area were the
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
businessmen who stayed near the Tua Pek Kong temple (古晉大伯公廟). Teochew businessmen later built more shophouses along the street and named the western part of the street as "Shun Feng Street" (顺丰街) which means "smooth and abundant". Shophouses at the Hai Chun Street were made of wood and
attap dwelling An attap dwelling is traditional housing found in the kampongs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Named after the attap palm, which provides the wattle for the walls, and the leaves with which their roofs are thatched, these dwelling ...
s. Near the present day
Chinese History Museum The Chinese History Museum Kuching ( ms, Muzium Sejarah Cina Kuching) is a museum in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The museum is about the history of the Chinese people in Sarawak. History The museum building was constructed in 1912 and was use ...
was the first market in Kuching selling fish, meat, and vegetables. Therefore, the Hai Chun Street is also known as Main Bazaar. In 1863, Frederick Bayle described the Hai Chun Street as follows: By 1872, when the name "Sarawak" was changed to "Kuching", Hai Chun Street shophouses were rebuilt by using red bricks and clay tiles. However, Shun Feng Street retained its wooden attap shophouses. On 20 January 1884 at 1:05 am, a big fire started from the intersection between Attap Street (present day Carpenter Street) and China Street. The fire continued to spread and consumed much of the shophouses on the Shun Feng Street. Only at 6:00 am, the fire was put out by rain. A total of 160 shophouses were burnt. After the fire, Rajah Charles Brooke announced that all the new shophouses should be rebuilt with non-flammable brick walls and grey tiles. Many of the rebuilt shophouses still retained their old architectures. Nowadays, grocery stores, large trading companies, banks, and coffee shops has become a rare sight on the street. They are replaced by shophouses specialised in selling handicrafts to tourists. In the 1880s, Rajah Charles Brooke built a new market at Gambier Street while trying to shift traders from the old market at Hai Chun Street to here. In 1898, Charles Brooke through a Chinese Xin'an pastor, encouraged Xin'an people to migrate from
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, China to plant rice and vegetables at Kuching. Therefore, Xin'an people become a majority of traders in this new market. To ensure Chinese labourers remained healthy and productive, Charles Brooke ordered a cannon to be fired from the
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
at 5 am and 8 pm every day to remind them to ensure their hygiene by taking a bath. Hainanese people came later than Hokkien and Teochew people. Since businesses were already dominated by other ethnic groups, the Hainanese people left with little choices but to become helpers of colonial officers and doing household work. They mastered skills of making coffee,
kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...
, bread, curry, and chicken rice. At first, they sell the food items as mobile vendors but later set up coffee shops at Carpenter Street. The first Siang Ti Temple (上帝廟) was built by the Teochews at the Carpenter Street but was razed to the ground in 1884. A new temple was built in 1889 with Chinese opera theatre (named Yang Choon Tai) built directly opposite the temple. The Chinese Opera was built to hold thanksgiving ceremonies to the deities on the first day and the middle of every month. The theatre is still used to stage Chinese opera to this day especially on the birthday of the deity "Hiang Thian Siang Ti" (玄天上帝). In the olden days, the Chinese opera was also used as a sanctuary for the homeless who arrived from mainland China. The homeless people could sleep under the stage until they find their own lodging. Back alleys of Carpenter Street was once a warm bed for brothels, opium dens, and gambling houses. The British eventually clear up the illegal activities here.


Present day Chinatown

In the present day, several families staying in Main Bazaar still pursue tin-smithing, carpentry and petty trading while majority of the shops here are antique and handicraft shops with a few coffee shops. Several notable outlets in Main Bazaar are: Native Arts, Nelson's Gallery, Rainforest, Sarawak House, Atelier Gallery and Arts of Asia. Carpenter Street is lying parallel to Main Bazaar. The street is considered backstreet to the Main Bazaar. The street was formerly known as "Attap Street" (亚答街) because shophouses there were once covered by
attap dwelling An attap dwelling is traditional housing found in the kampongs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Named after the attap palm, which provides the wattle for the walls, and the leaves with which their roofs are thatched, these dwelling ...
s. There were also carpenters working in their workshops here, thus giving the street its name. The Tua Pek Kong temple is located at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. Built in 1876, it is oldest Chinese temple in Kuching. The
Chinese History Museum The Chinese History Museum Kuching ( ms, Muzium Sejarah Cina Kuching) is a museum in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The museum is about the history of the Chinese people in Sarawak. History The museum building was constructed in 1912 and was use ...
is located near the waterfront, opposite the Tua Pek Kong temple. The museum shows the history of Chinese community in Sarawak. The Chinese shophouses at Jalan Padungan were built between 1920 and 1930s when rubber plantation businesses flourished at the time. Hong San Si Temple 03.jpg,
Hong San Si Temple zh, 鳳山寺 , image = Hong San Si Temple 04.jpg , caption = , location = Kuching , coordinates = , religious_affiliation = Taoism , district = Kuching District , state ...
at the eastern corner of Carpenter and Wayang Streets. Tua Pek Kong Temple 09.jpg, Tua Pek Kong temple at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. Chinese-style Gate.jpg, ''
Paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...
'' entrance into the Carpenter Street. Chinese History Museum, Kuching, Malaysia.JPG, The
Chinese History Museum The Chinese History Museum Kuching ( ms, Muzium Sejarah Cina Kuching) is a museum in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The museum is about the history of the Chinese people in Sarawak. History The museum building was constructed in 1912 and was use ...
.


References


External links

* {{coord, 1, 33, 31.93, N, 110, 20, 48.59, E, region:MY_type:landmark, display=title Chinatowns in Malaysia Shopping districts and streets in Malaysia Tourist attractions in Kuching