Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s branch office in George Town dated back in 1928, at the decline of Qing dynasty and the rise of Nationalist movement in China, is a staggering example of Chinese heritage overseas. Continue reading Chinese Chamber of Commerce office George Town
Trekking on East Asia’s prehistoric humans site, unremitting wind whispers an exclamation of silence at Zhou Kou Dian, 50 kilometers southwest of Beijing, China. Continue reading Dawn at silent hills
Chinese ancestral temples are found scattered across the old parts of George Town. It is note-worthy that not only the municipality protects these buildings for its historical value, the Malaysian of Chinese descents also care for each of their memorial center, keeping the tradition of paying homage to the past generations. Continue reading Remember ancestors
Han Awal is fascinated by the way architecture conveys local wisdom as to what he discovered on his trip from Ise Shrine in Japan to Wae Rebo village in Flores, Indonesia. Wood material has the least durability, yet the indigeneous civilization rebuilt it, consequently forming a tradition. Continue reading Han Awal’s conservation architecture
For generations the locals named it Chicken Bone Hill or Dragon Bone Hill until Swedish archeologist Johann Gunnar Andersson discovered circa 1920s that the vast hilly terrains stored valuable evolutionary tracks dating back to Pleistocene era. Continue reading Peking Man Site
The latest data on national water consumption showed a huge supply gap between the national tap water company PAM and the private bottled water companies operating in Indonesia. PAM provided 3.2 billion litres of tap waters in 2013, whereas the bottled water sales in that year reached 20.3 billion litres. The sales number rose to 23.9 billion litres the following year. This indicates that the … Continue reading THE ESSENCE OF TAP WATER
The article first appeared on Indonesia Jazz Review, 6 March 2015.
Dutch saxophonist Benjamin Herman performed in Jakarta for the first time on 5 March 2015, in Erasmus Huis. Described as a loose, witty, and vigorous player, the free-jazz style Benjamin was one of the most productive jazz players in the Netherlands, having made a dozen solo albums and over a hundred records with all kinds of artists. Continue reading “Benjamin Herman Trio and Daniel von Piekartz Live Concert”
Soeman HS Library in Pekanbaru, Riau, won the 2015 ASEAN Architecture Award, eliminating 19 other building designs from eight Southeast Asian countries. Judges from each country selected the former legislative building of Riau renovated into a five-floor library for its striking amalgamation of the traditional features and the influence of modernity. Decorative sculptures showing the local artistry and life values fill the walls. The exo … Continue reading Award winning Soeman HS Library in Riau
Fire gutted the rear building of Jin De Yuan Temple, Glodok, at 4AM, when the people living in the Chinatown were asleep. The area suffered blackout to prevent electricity catastrophe due to the electrical transformer mounted on a pole located just a few meters away from the blaze. The main buildings, fortunately, remained intact. Jin De Yuan is the oldest temple in Jakarta, a historical building in Chinatown, and a major part of history surrounding the 17th century Chinese overseas settlers in the then Dutch East Indies. For its rich history, the temple has always been a major place of interest in the eyes of both domestic and foreign tourists visiting the Big Durian. Continue reading “FIRE IN JIN DE YUAN TEMPLE”
Located at the west-end of Tanah Abang textile center, access to Blok G not only poses setback due to the relatively far distances from the central blocks, the chaotic traffic caused by a concentration of public minivans makes the building even harder for visitors to come take a look. Blok G is now in dire condition, but officials said workers are speeding up refurbishment, especially in the third and fourth floor, where estimatedly over 700 kiosks will be ready to use by September. With just a month to go, there is a lot of work to do. Perhaps, the success of mass removal program to clean up streets from street vendors is not about hastening the restoration project in Blok G, but more than that, a sound policy based on thorough studies. Continue reading “WARY AND WEARY PART 3: BLOK G”
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