Tanjung Pinang
Encyclopedia
Tanjung Pinang or Tanjungpinang is the capital and second largest city of the 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...

n province
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...

 of Riau Islands after Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...

. A city with about 200,000 residents) it is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago. Tanjung Pinang is located on south of Bintan
Bintan
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....

 island and has ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 and speedboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...

 connections to Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...

, 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...

 (40 km away), and Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...

.

History

Tanjung Pinang was a political center 500 years ago, when the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 won the battle of Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

 and the Sultan Mahmud
Sultan Mahmud
Sultan Mahmud may refer to:*Mahmud I , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire*Mahmud II , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire*Mahmud of Ghazni , Sultan of Persia in the 11th century...

 of Malacca fled to Tanjung Pinang to create a resistance against the Portuguese's very hostile expansion.

Tanjung Pinang has always played a leading role in Malay culture. A few hundred years ago, Tanjung Pinang became a powerful trading port, attracting regional, Western, Indian and Chinese traders. Migrants including Chinese were also attracted, much in the same way how Malacca had developed into a regional power three centuries earlier.

Landmarks

The cultural center for stage performances of Malay music and dances is located in Tanjung Pinang. The center organizes regularly festivals and other performance. Culture happenings such as music and dance. Renowned Buddhist temples are located outside central Tanjung Pinang in a small town named Senggarang
Senggarang, Indonesia
Senggarang is the name of a small village on the island of Bintan, Indonesia. The oldest temple in the Kepri region can be found on Senggarang. Locals believe Senggarang was the first home for Chinese immigrants a long time ago, who then spread throughout the other island of Kepri. Now the area is...

.

Penyengat Island

The old ruler's palace and royal tombs, among them the grave of the respected Raja Ali Haji, who was the creater and author of the first Malay Language grammar book, are one of the many legacies left by the Riau sultanate. Still in use is the old vice-royal mosque, the Mesjid Raya. The site is being considered to be on the World Heritage list of sites which has "outstanding universal value" to the world.

Raja Haji Fisabillah Monument

The 28-metre tall Raja Haji Fisabillah Monument was raised in memory of the Raja Haji Fisabilillah who died during the battle of Malacca against the Dutch in 1784. He was a famous Malayan king and had his castle on Penyengat island outside Tanjung Pinang.

External links

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