Singkawang
Encyclopedia
Singkawang is located at the province of West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....

 or Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It is located at about 145 km north of Pontianak
Pontianak, Indonesia
Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. It is a medium-size industrial city on the island of Borneo. Pontianak occupies an area of 107.82 km² in the delta of the Kapuas River...

, the provincial capital, and is surrounded by the Pasi, Poteng, and Sakok mountain. Singkawang is derived from Hakka, San khew jong which refers to a town in hills nearby a sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

 and estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

.

Population

According to the data from the 2010 Census, the population of Singkawang was 186,306, most of which are Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....

 descents. The largest group of Chinese descent is Hakka people
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 (locally called as Khek based on Hokkien
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....

 dialect) – about 62% of the population. The other major group of Chinese descent is Chaozhou People
Chaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...

 which is better known as Teochew. The rest are Melayu, Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

, Javanese, and other ethnicities.

The distribution of the religion practically follows the distribution of the ethnic groups; the largest groups are Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

.

History

From the middle of the 18th century the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 governed trading in the city.
During the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

 era Singkawang was a Roman Catholic main station and permanent residence of Roman Catholic clergy. The mission there was called the 'Apostolic Vicariate of Dutch Borneo' and founded among others schools, a hospital and a leprosy colony.

City of Thousand Temples

Singkawang is also well-known as the City of A Thousand Temples since there are so many temples can be found in the city and its surrounding. Nearly every god and goddess in Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...

 are worshiped here. People also worship popular historical figures like General Guan Gong, Admiral Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...

, or even Emperor Sung Tai-zu, which was found to be worshiped in the temple outside the north side of the city.

Food

Chinese food especially Hakka style dominates the food stalls or small restaurants, but Teo Chew style is also available. Minang style food can also be found here. Unique food like "Rujak Ju Hie" (rojak with dried squid) is one of delicacies in Singkawang. Tofu (bean curd) Singkawang is famous in West Kalimantan, also "Kembang Tahu" (silky smooth tofu with sugar gravy) is very popular in this city. Singkawang is also famous for its cakes. The variety of cakes is surprising and available from early morning till midnight. Kopi Tiam (local coffee shop) with strong bitter robusta coffee can be found every where. Peaceful and safe feeling for everyone makes Singkawang to be one of the cities with lively night. One may enjoy various food in Pasar Hongkong from porridge, kwetiau, fried rice, nasi lemak, rujak (fruit & vegetables salad), cakes coffee stall. And the prices of the food are surprisingly cheap. Local people enjoy the night with their friends discussing the local hottest issues, singing, or playing cards.

Chinatown

Beside it is well-known as the City of Thousands Temples, as there are many small and large temple from any corner of Singkawang region, Singkawang is also known as one of the Indonesian Chinatowns since the majority population is Chinese descendant, consisting of mostly Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

, teo-chew
Teochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...

, hokkian, hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...

 and some other sub-ethnic of Chinese. They still practice their culture in any ceremony or official events, from weddings to funeral ceremonies. The culture is seen as the closest to the original tradition of Chinese people (mostly refers to Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

), making Singkawang known as the Indonesian Chinatown.

Languages

Singkawang people use Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

 as the primary language not only in conversation or trading, but they also use their own mother tongue. As Singkawang consists of three major ethnic groups, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

, Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...

s and Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

, Hakka Chinese is the most among all, then almost all of the Singkawang people use Hakka for conversation beside Indonesian, even some parts of the other ethnic people can use it too. The Indonesian used in Singkawang commonly for daily conversation is not standard Indonesian, but has some Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 influence on vocabulary as Malay is the closest language to Indonesian, as Singkawang people have for years been accustomed to Malay.

Festivals

  • Cap Go Meh is celebrated 15th days after Chinese New Year
    Chinese New Year
    Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...

    ;
  • May: Gawai Dayak Naik Dango is celebrated by the Dayak in the opening of the rice harvest to thank the Gods;
  • June 1: Ngabayotn is celebrated by the Dayak people to celebrate the closing form of rice harvest and beginning of the cultivation season;
  • August: Wayang
    Wayang
    Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...

     Gantung;
  • August 15: Karnaval Augustus celebrates Indonesian Independence day;
  • October: Singkawang 10 km running contest is held on Singkawang's anniversary;
  • October: Dragon Cup soccer championship gathers the clubs from the surrounding districts to celebrate Singkawang's anniversary;
  • October: Pawai Takbir;
  • Festival Bedug on Idul Adha day;
  • Karnaval Muharram celebrates Islamic new year

Around Singkawang

Places of interest around the city are:
  • Villa Bukit Mas, a resort;
  • Bukit Bougenville, a botanical garden about 6 km south of Singkawang;
  • Chidayu Indah, is a similar garden to that of Bougenville, and lies right next to it;
  • Pasir Panjang beach resort about 17 km south of Singkawang;
  • Sungai Hangmoy, a river used for bathing mainly by the Hakka Chinese population;
  • Kawasan Wisata, a white sanded beach 8 km south of Singkawang;
  • Teratai Indah, an artificial lake used for recreation by the locals; lies only 2 km south of Singkawang;
  • Vihara Chikung, the largest Taoist temple in the area, funded by Singaporeans, located 3 km south of the city;
  • Gunung Roban, a mount with a tiled path up the mountain used by the locals for easy hiking; located 4 km to the east.
  • Batu Belimbing, or Starfruit Rock, a rock that resembles a starfruit. lies 8 km east of the city;
  • Gunung Poteng is one of the main water resources for the city, and lies 7 km east. The mountain is a Natural Reserve where unique flora such as the Rafflesia Tuan Mudae
    Rafflesia tuan-mudae
    Rafflesia tuan-mudae is a member of the Rafflesiaceae family. It lives as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine. The enormous flowers may reach up to 1 m in diameter...

     grows.

Human trafficking

Singkawang has a large number of incidents of Human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...

 for the selling girls, most of the men who come to Singkawang looking for young women to marry are from Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, Malaysia, or Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. These men arrive, get in touch with a broker, the broker then approaches a family with a suitably aged girl and generally offers the parents about five million rupiahs (about US$500) for her.

The overseas men of course pay the broker much more than this figure, with one 2006 Singapore source suggesting the fee is around 30 million rupiahs (about US$3,000). Often a time period is stipulated in the contract as well, like two or five years, or sometimes very short periods, and often there is in fact no legal marriage.

Sister cities

Bintulu
Bintulu
Bintulu is a coastal town, and the capital of Bintulu District in the Bintulu Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is about 650 kilometers from Kuching and about 215 kilometers from either Sibu or Miri....

, Malaysia Miri
Miri
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....

, Malaysia Sibu
Sibu
Sibu may refer to:*Sibu, Sarawak in Eastern Malaysia*Sibu Division*Sibu , an impact crater on Mars*Pulau Sibu, an island off the eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia*Sibu , name of a goddess in the Bribri tribe, in Costa Rica...

, Malaysia Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

, PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 Gutian County
Gutian County
Gutian County , also known as Edible Mushroom County, is a county lying in the southwest of Ningde, Fujian province, China. It is also known as "the town of the former worthy", as Zhuxi, a famous Chinese scholar once lived there...

, PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 Minjiang, PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 Ma Zhu, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...


External links

Official Singkawang Website UnOfficial Singkawang Website
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