Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) or "Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park" (literally translated) is a culture-based recreational area located in East Jakarta

East Jakarta

East Jakarta is a city within Jakarta Special District, Indonesia. It had a population of 2,687,027 at the 2010, making it the most populous of the five cities within Jakarta....

, 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 has an area of about 250 acres (1 km²). The park is a synopsis of Indonesian culture

Culture of Indonesia

Indonesian culture has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is central along ancient trading routes between the Far East and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of...

, with virtually all aspects of daily life in Indonesia's 26 (in 1975) provinces

Provinces of Indonesia

The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...

 encapsulated in separate pavilions with the collections of Indonesian architecture

Indonesian architecture

The Architecture of Indonesia reflects the diversity of cultural, historical and geographic influences that have shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonisers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a profound effect on building styles and techniques....

, clothing, dances and traditions are all depicted impeccably. Apart from that, there is a lake with a miniature of the archipelago in the middle of it, cable cars, museums, a theater called the Theatre of My Homeland (Theater Tanah Airku) and other recreational facilities which make TMII one of the most popular tourist

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 destinations in the city.

History

This idea to build the smaller scale of Indonesia was originally came from former Indonesian first lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

, Siti Hartinah

Siti Hartinah

Raden Ayu Siti Hartinah was the wife of the second Indonesian president, Suharto. She is usually known as Ibu Tien to Indonesians, but is also known as Siti Hartinah Soeharto .Mrs Suharto was also widely acknowledged to be a close confidant and political advisor to...

 or best-known as Tien Suharto. The idea came out at a convention on 8 Cendana Street at March 13, 1970. Through this recreational site, she hoped more Indonesian people will have more national pride than before. The project called "Indonesian Miniature Project" was started by Harapan Kita Foundation in 1972. The concept of this culture-based recreational area was taken from the fact that Indonesia has unparalled richness and diversity from many different aspects.

Characteristics

TMII was originally located on a public area of 145 ha, as farms and fields. Later, the team was able to convert these fields into a suitable location for the construction. The topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 of TMII is rather hilly, consistent with what the builders required. The team claimed the advantage of utilizing this uneven terrain was the ability to create interesting and diverse landscapes and enclosures, as well as reflecting the various characteristics of the Indonesian environment.

Venues of Indonesian Provinces

Since each Indonesian province maintains its own unique and distinct cultures, shelters, attire and dialects, TMII built a model of each of the houses from Indonesian provinces. TMII attempted not only to reconstruct the homes of the various provinces, but also to create a realistic model of the environment and shelters of the various people of Indonesia. The venues, which are situated around the main lake in a similar fashion to the different islands of the Indonesian archipelago, are thematically divided into six areas in respect to the main islands of Indonesia; Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, Kalimantan

Kalimantan

In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....

 (Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

), Sulawesi

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

, the Lesser Sunda Islands

Lesser Sunda Islands

The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...

, Maluku

Maluku Islands

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...

 and Papua

Papua (Indonesian province)

Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...

. Each pavilions featured in typical vernacular

Vernacular

A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 Indonesian architecture

Indonesian architecture

The Architecture of Indonesia reflects the diversity of cultural, historical and geographic influences that have shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonisers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a profound effect on building styles and techniques....

 of each provinces. It also displays various traditional costumes, wedding costumes, dance costumes, also ethnography artifacts such as weapons and daily tools, models of traditional architecture are in display to describes the way of life of its people. Each provinces pavilions also equipped with small stage, amphitheatre or auditorium for traditional dance performances, traditional music performances or traditional ceremonies that usually held in Sundays. Some of these pavilions also equipped with cafeterias featuring traditional Indonesian cuisines and also souvenir shops offering various handicrafts, t-shirts and souvenirs.

Since 1975 until 2000s, the original design of TMII consist of a model of the houses from the 27 provinces of Indonesia, including East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

. But after the secession of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002, the East Timor pavilion changed its status to become the Museum of East Timor. Also since Indonesia now consist of 33 provinces

Provinces of Indonesia

The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...

, currently the new province pavilions of Bangka Belitung, Banten

Banten

Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...

, West Sulawesi

West Sulawesi

West Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia, which was created in 2004.- Geography :It is on the island of Sulawesi and includes the regencies of Polewali Mandar, Mamasa, Majene, Mamuju, and Mamuju Utara, which were formerly part of South Sulawesi...

, North Maluku

North Maluku

North Maluku is a province of northeastern Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to cover the entire group...

, Gorontalo

Gorontalo (province)

Gorontalo is a province of Indonesia on the northern part of Sulawesi. The province was established in December 2000 after being split from North Sulawesi province...

, and West Papua is being built in northeast part of the park.

After the recognition of Indonesian Chinese culture as the integral part of Indonesian culture in 2000, the new Indonesian Chinese pavilion and a Confucian temple was built within the park.

Religious Buildings

The religious buildings of several official faiths is meant to showcase the inter-faiths tolerance and religious harmony of Indonesia. The religious buildings are:

• Pangeran Diponegoro Mosque
  Mosque
  A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
  
  
• Santa Catharina Catholic church
• Haleluya Protestant church
• Penataran Agung Kertabhumi Balinese Hindu temple
  Hindu temple
  A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
  
  
• Arya Dwipa Arama Buddhist temple
• Sasana Adirasa Pangeran Samber Nyawa
• Kong Miao Confucian temple

Gardens and Parks

There are about ten gardens spread within TMII complex, but most are located primarily on the north and northeast side of the main lake:

• Orchid Garden
• Medicinal herbs Garden
• Cactus
  Cactus
  A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
  
   Garden
• Jasmine
  Jasmine
  Jasminum , commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family . It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World...
  
   Garden
• Keong Emas (Golden Snail) Flower
  Flower
  A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
  
   Garden
• Fresh Water Aquarium
  Aquarium
  An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
  
  
• Bekisar (a type of rooster
  Rooster
  A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
  
  ) Garden
• Bird Park
  Aviary
  An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
  
  
• Taman Ria Atmaja Park, stage and music performances
• Taman Budaya Tionghoa Indonesia, an Indonesian Chinese cultural park (under construction)
• Reptile Park in Komodo Zoological Museum compound. A fully grown Komodo dragon
  Komodo dragon
  The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
  
   (Varanus komodoensis) nicknamed Bima resides in the reptile park near the eastern gate, which you can pet and take pictures with for Rp.5,000 ($0.60).

Museums

‎

There are fourteen museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s at TMII:

• Indonesia Museum
  Indonesia Museum
  The Indonesia Museum , is an anthropology and ethnological museum located in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah , Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum concentrated on arts and cultures of various ethnic groups that inhabit Indonesian archipelago and formed the modern nation of Indonesia...
  
  
• Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum
  Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum
  The Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, is a history museum specialized on the life of Suharto, the former second president of Indonesia and a powerful political figure in modern Indonesian history. It is located in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah , Jakarta, Indonesia...
  
  
• Soldier Museum
• Indonesian stamps Museum
• Pusaka (Heirloom) Museum
• Transportation Museum
• Museum Electricity & New Energy Museum
• Telecommunication Museum
• Penerangan Museum
• Sports Museum
• Asmat Museum
• Komodo Zoological Museum and Reptile Park
• Insects Museum
• Research & Technology Information Centre
• Oil & Gas Museum
• East Timor Museum (former East Timor province pavilion)

Monuments, Halls, Buildings and other Exhibits

• Kala Makara main gates
• Flower clock
• Tugu Api Pancasila, the main monument, an obelisk celebrating Pancasila
• Baluwerti, a twin gate with relief of Indonesian history on its wall
• Pendopo Agung Sasono Utomo (Grand Hall), the main building in Javanese Joglo style
• Sasono Utomo, exhibition hall
• Sasono Langen Budoyo, indoor stage and theater
• Sasono Manganti
• Sasana Kriya handicraft center
• Park Management Office
• Cokot Sculpture, a display of wooden sculptures by Cokot, a famous Balinese artist
• The Miniature of Borobudur
  Borobudur
  Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
  
  
• APEC Memorial Monument and Garden
• Non Alignment
  Non-Aligned Movement
  The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
  
   Nations Friendship Monument and Garden
• The Miniature of Indonesian Archipelago on central lake
• Indonesian Archipelago Plaza and Stage
• Jati Taminah, a remnant of a large teak
  Teak
  Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
  
   tree
• Kayu Gede (large wood), the display of large tree trunk
  Tree Trunk
  "Tree Trunk" is a song recorded and released in 1972 by The Doors."Tree Trunk" was recorded by the surviving members of The Doors as they assembled material for their second and final album, Full Circle, following the death of Jim Morrison...
  
  

Rides

• Skylift Indonesia cable car
  Cable car
  A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems.-Aerial lift:Aerial lifts where the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable:...
  
  
• Aeromovel Indonesia, a wind powered monorail
  Monorail
  A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
  
  
• Mini train around the park
• Boat ride on Indonesian archipelago lake
• Swan paddle boat on Indonesian archipelago lake
• Bicycle
  Bicycle
  A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
  
   rent ride
• Car ride around the area

Recreation facilities

• Istana Anak-Anak Indonesia (The Castle of Indonesian Children)
• Taman Among Putro kiddy rides park
• Desa Seni dan Kerajinan handicraft center
• Rare books market
• Snowbay Waterpark swimmingpool
• Telaga Mina fishing pond
• Warna Alam outbound camp

Restaurants

• Caping Gunung restaurant
• California fried chicken restaurants
• Pecel Madiun restaurant
• Various cafetarias and warung
  Warung
  A warung is a type of small family-owned business — often a casual shop, usually café — in Indonesia and Malaysia...
  
  s available throughout the park featuring Indonesian cuisines such as soto
  Soto (food)
  Soto, sroto, tauto or coto is a common dish, found in many regional variations of Indonesian cuisine. It is a traditional soup mainly composed of broth, meat and vegetables. There is no clear definition of what makes a soto, but normally many traditional soups are called soto, whereas foreign and...
  
  , gado-gado
  Gado-gado
  Gado-gado , also called Lotek for its cooked version - differed from lotek atah or karedok for its fresh and raw version of the vegetable covered with peanut sauce and pecel is an Indonesian dish comprising a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing...
  
  , nasi goreng
  Nasi goreng
  Nasi goreng, literally meaning "fried rice" in Indonesian, can refer simply to fried pre-cooked rice, a meal including stir fried rice in small amount of cooking oil or margarine, typically spiced with kecap manis , shallot, garlic, tamarind and chilli and accompanied with other ingredients,...
  
   and satay
  Satay
  Satay , or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are...
  
  .

Future plans

At 2011 the operator plans to disburse $35 million for building a new Discovery World

Discovery World

Discovery World is a museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at 500 N. Harbor Drive. When the museum moved to Milwaukee's lakefront in 2006, it changed its name to Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin. It formerly was located at 815 N. James Lovell Street....

 theme park. A 2 hectares area will be build since October 2011 and predicted will be operated before end of 2012. It will serves 100 venues/rides and is predicted attracts 1.2 million visitors from Indonesia and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

.

External links

Official website