Semarang revives Old City to lure tourists

Semarang is progressing fast and developing into a leading business city, although floods caused by heavy rain and high tides affect some parts of the city.

Semarang is the country's third largest business city after Jakarta and Surabaya. It became a business city during colonial times after the establishment of Dutch trading company Verenigde Oost-Indie Compagnie (VOC) in 1705. Previously, the Dutch business center was in Jepara, Central Java.

The Dutch built Vijhoek fort and a connecting street, called Heeren Straat, which is now Jl. Letjen Soeprapto. One of the gates of the fort is at Berok Bridge, which was formerly called De Zuider Por.

Semarang grew into a business city starting from the fort as its center point. The fort area was called Oudestad van Samarang or the Old City of Semarang and was often called Little Netherlands. The whole area was the city's administration and business center with a number of residential areas that were divided into areas and streets, particularly for Arabs (Pekojan) and Chinese (Pecinan).

After three decades, the Old City is now relatively deserted. The reason is that most of the area is often flooded. The business center gradually moved southward to higher ground. Jl. Mataram turned into one of the city's business centers. Pekojan, where Arabs used to live, is now a residential area for many Chinese-Indonesians.

Business centers in Semarang have now spread all over the city, including to Simpang Lima, which was once a quiet area. Today there are three malls here: Matahari Plaza, Ciputra Mall and Ramayana Mall.

Jl Pandanaran, which is close by, has turned into a snack center. Here modern shops sell bandeng presto (grilled milkfish), wingko babat (coconut and sugar snack), lunpia (shrimp and bamboo snack) as well as many other Indonesian snacks.

Meanwhile, Johar Market, the largest traditional market in Central Java, is a reliable business center in the heart of the city with thousands of large and small vendors.

Chinatown or Pecinan has been preserved and has 10 temples that are actively visited by worshippers. Since the reform era, Chinese culture and traditions have once again flourished. In Semarang, Chinese New Year is celebrated with a fair, namely the two-day Pasar Imlek Semawis prior to Chinese New Year. In Semarang's Chinatown, traditional Chinese drugstores are always crowded with customers.

In Pecinan is Warung Semawis, a food stall selling both Chinese and Javanese food and snacks, such as pork satay, hot mung bean soup, lunpia, fried noodles, fried rice and much more. It is open only on Friday and Saturday evenings. There is a stage where visitors can sing. Food prices here are very reasonable even by local standards.

The night fair, called Jie Kao Mee in the Chinese language, and later the Imlek Semawis Fair has been held since 2004. "The fair has been modified with a modern touch to attract the younger generation as well," said Ong Gwan Djien alias Dharmadi.

The fair sees performances of Chinese, Javanese and even Arabic culture and traditions.

The old temples are also worth a visit, such as Kwan Im Ting (established in 1476) in Gang Belakang, Sioe Hok Bio (1753) in Gang Baru, Tek Hay Bio (1756) in Gang Gambiran, Tay Kak Sie (1771) in Gang Lombok, Tong Pek Bio (1782) in Gang Pinggir, Hoo Hok Bio (1792) in Gang Mangkok, Wie Wie Kiong (1814) in Kampong Sebandaran, Kong Tik Soe (1845) in the Tay Kak Sie complex, Liong Hok Bio (1866) in Gang Besen and See Hoo Kiong (1881) in Sebandaran. Gang means alley in English.

The temple manager will gladly answer any questions related to the Khonghucu, Tao and Buddhist temples. One of the best temples is Tay Kak Sie, which is the largest in Chinatown. It has three large statues of Buddha and a number of small statuettes of Buddha, while there are numerous statues of gods in the other room.

If you want to see Southeast Asia's largest temple then visit Sam Po Kong at Gedung Batu, Simongan, Semarang, which is about five kilometers from Simpang Lima in the heart of the city. Here one can enter the temple complex, but has to pray in the main temple to see the ornamental relic of the trip taken by Adm. Cheng Ho around the world.

When you have finished your tour of Semarang's Chinatown, you can visit the Old City, which is 31 hectares in area. Here you will find 50 buildings built during Dutch times. One of the oldest buildings is the historical Immanuel Church, locally called Gereja Blenduk, which is more than two centuries old and located on Jl. Letjen Suprapto. Just opposite the church is the Murba Building. Most of the buildings are still standing strong. Some are unoccupied, while some have been turned into offices, warehouses or restaurants.

The Semarang city administration is attempting to revive the Old City and make it a tourist destination. Srigunting Park, near the church, has been renovated and the street repaved. Foreign tourists, especially from the Netherlands, often visit the Old City. It seems that Little Netherlands is quite an attraction for them.

"It is a pity that we have not been able to solve the flood problem there. However, the Old City remains one of the city's best tourist destinations, said the marketing head of the Semarang Cultural and Tourism Office.

Source: The Jakartapost Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang