Ipoh
Ipoh (latitude 4.60°N, longitude 101.07°E) is a city in Malaysia located to the north of Kuala Lumpur. It is the state capital of Perak. It is approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Highway.
Today, "Ipoh" usually refers to the territory under administration of Ipoh City Council or Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, which absorbs the smaller towns adjacent to the city including Chemor, Jelapang, Falim, Menglembu and Tanjong Rambutan. Historically, "Ipoh" referred to the Old Town and New Town divided by the Kinta River at its heart, from which the city grew. The current Mayor of Ipoh is Hasan Nawawi Abdul Rahman.
History and background
The name Ipoh originated from a local tree, pohon epu or now more commonly known as pokok ipoh. This particular plant is used for the extraction of poisonous tree sap. The extract is used by the Orang Asli in their blowdarts. Ipoh is also known as san seng (Chinese : 山城) which means "hill city" in the Cantonese dialect. Ipoh is also known among Chinese Malaysians as "Pa-loh" (Chinese : 壩羅). The old nickname for Ipoh is "City of Millionaires", referring to the vast fortunes made during the tin and rubber days.
Ipoh is located in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River. It grew rapidly as a mining town, especially in 1920s and 1930s. With the collapse of tin prices and the closure of the tin mines in the late 1950s, Ipoh's growth had stagnated and resulted in the migration of many young and bright talents to other parts of Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Ipoh has since been known as a "dead" city and a good retirement location. Various efforts have been made to redevelop Ipoh into a modern town (see below).
Ipoh has one of the cleanest and clearest water supplies in Malaysia, as the source is from the waterfalls in nearby Tanjung Rambutan. The Hospital Bahagia, a well-known mental hospital in Malaysia, is located in Tanjung Rambutan.
Population
Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities, with a population of 637,200 (2004) and urban area population of 798,800 (2004), placing it as the second most populous urban centre in Malaysia.
People
The majority of the residents in Ipoh (approx. 69%) are of Chinese descent. Although Cantonese is widely spoken, the early settlers were mostly Hakka who came to mine the rich tin deposits. They worked mostly on "Palong" (Chinese: unrivalled dragon sprout) while the hardy Hakka women used the back-breaking "dulang" method for tin mining.
Prominent people from Ipoh
Ipoh has its share of prominent people who are known regionally or internationally, especially in business and entertainment:
- One of Ipoh's most famous natives is actress Dato' Michelle Yeoh, who acted in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. (She is an alumnus of Main Convent Ipoh, and was awarded the honorary title Dato' by the Sultan of Perak in recognition of her achievements.)
- Cartoonist Mohd Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, spent his schooling days in Ipoh as a student of Anderson School.
- Hong Kong actress Angie Cheung Wai Yee was born in Ipoh.
- Taiwan-based singer, Michael Wong (Guang Liang), from the former Michael & Victor (Guang Liang Pin Guan) duet, was a student of Sam Tet school.
Food
Ipoh is famous for its cuisine. Natives claim that Ipoh's water, which is relatively hard (high alkali content) owing to Ipoh's location on top of a large karstic formation, makes the food especially tasty. Ipoh is a famous production hub for tasty light soya sauce and dark soya sauce.
Famous examples of Ipoh cuisine include the following:
- Fruits. Ipoh is famous for its fruits, such as seedless guava, pomelos and durians. Pomelos are sold along the main trunk road leading into Ipoh (the old Route 1 that links the towns in Perak and neighbouring states).
- Beansprout Chicken (Chinese 芽菜雞, Malay 'tauge ayam'). This consists of chicken meat, assorted chicken innards and beansprouts boiled in the abovementioned hard water and served with soy sauce and sesame oil. Ipoh's bean sprouts are short, fat and difficult to find elsewhere.
- Flat noodles or Ipoh "Hor Fun" (from Cantonese hor fun or in Chinese 河粉, Malay/Hokkien kuay teow). These are flat rice noodles prepared in the hard water. There are two varieties. Sar hor fun is served in a clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns and spring onions. Chau hor fun (kuay teow basah) is fried with a little dark gravy, as opposed to Penang char kway teow which has no gravy but is fried with egg, prawns and cockles. It is also different from Cantonese-style wat tan ho which is completely immersed in clear, egg-starch gravy.
- Fragrant biscuits (Cantonese heong peng or in Chinese 香餅). These are flaky biscuits with a sweet filling, and are bought as souvenirs by tourists to Ipoh.
- Kampar Chicken Biscuits (Cantonese kai zhai peng or in Chinese 雞仔餅). Also a popular souvenir for tourists to Ipoh.
- White coffee. This is made from coffee beans specially roasted with butter. Ipoh white coffee is abundant in the Old Town of Ipoh. Many locals strongly believe that the aroma, taste and texture is superior to commercially-packed sachets or the Ipoh White Coffee sold outside Ipoh.
- Laksa. Laksa in Ipoh tastes sour and spicy, different than Penang laksa, which is sweet. The noodle soup contains prawn paste.
- Chee cheong fun (Chinese : 豬腸粉). This is a breakfast dish which consists of large flat pieces of flat rice noodles rolled up and served with sweet or spicy sauce. Unlike the chee cheong fun in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh has it with minced pork sauce and mushrooms, topped with preserved green chilli, a sprinkle of deep-fried shallots and sesame seeds.
- Fried cuttlefish vegetables (Cantonese yau yee oong choy or Chinese - 魷魚蕹菜). This is a dish of cuttlefish with kangkung and sweet and spicy sauce on top.
Places of Interest
The Old Town and New Town of Ipoh are two different parts of Ipoh separated by the Kinta River. Most olden-day prewar shophouses, heritage buildings, and some Government buildings are located in the Old Town while the New Town comprises newer buildings, shopping malls and housing estates.
D. R. Seenivasagam Park, located in the heart of Ipoh (New Town), is known for its scenic beauty and recreational facilities. It boasts several recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with various types of fishes, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. There are also beautiful arches, modular framework, shelters, pedestrian paths and the Ipoh tree which gave the city its name. The latest addition is the newly landscaped Japanese Garden featuring a typical Japanese Carp pond. The fresh atmosphere and variety of flora are also part of the main attractions of this park.
Famous attractions around Ipoh include Kellie's Castle (or Callie's Castle), which is the unfinished, abandoned mansion of an eccentric British planter, near Batu Gajah, half an hour's drive from Ipoh city centre. Its main appeal lies in the belief that it is haunted and that secret passages leading to hidden chambers exist.
A 15-minute drive from Ipoh towards Tanjung Rambutan brings you to the foot of a limestone hill where a rejuvenating experience awaits you - an invigorating hot bath from a natural spring, the Tambun hot springs.
The school building of St. Michael's Institution (SMI) along Clayton Road (now known as Jalan D.R. Seenivasagam) is an architectural masterpiece. Aside from this school, the Ipoh Train station which has elements of Moorish and Gothic architecture is another famous landmark of this former tin-mining city. SMI and the Railway Station are located in the Old Town of Ipoh. Many olden-day shophouses along Leech Street "Chinese: 烈治街" (now known as Jalan Bandar Timah) in the Old Town still maintain their architectural significance, besides being a popular tourist spot for food and drinks (refer the Food section below).
The New Town houses the Perak Medical University and Ipoh City Council building, among others.
For more information about the New Town and its places of interest refer below.
Limestone caves
Ipoh has many limestone caves due to the karstic formation around it. The Sam Po Tong (Cavern of Three Precious; Chinese : 三寶洞) temple, is a Chinese temple built within a gigantic limestone cave. It houses a few giant tortoises too. Its sister temple, Perak Tong (Perak Cave; Chinese : 霹靂洞), has a steep, tall staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted by a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings. The statue of Buddha in Perak Tong is the tallest and largest of its kind in Malaysia. Both these cavern temples have decent vegetarian food.
Another sight worth seeing is the Kek Lok Tong (Cavern of Utmost Happiness; Chinese : 極樂洞), which is a cave temple that lies on the other side of the same range of limestone hills as Sam Po Tong. however, it is only accessible through the Gunung Rapat housing area. It has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and has the best scenic cave view.
Schools
There are several schools with decades of established history in Ipoh. These include: (first four being former Catholic-run schools)
- Sam Tet School (Sam Tet) - Chinese-medium school famous for its track record in the Malaysian pre-university level, STPM (similar to the Britain's A-levels)
- St Michael's Institution (SMI) - good in drama performances
- Main Convent - famous for debate teams, and choral-speaking choirs
- Ave Maria Convent
- Anderson School (Anderson) Ipoh - stronghold of hockey on national level
- Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) Ipoh
- Methodist Girls School (MGS) Ipoh
- Ipoh International School - only school in Ipoh for the children of expatriates
Infrastructure
Healthcare
The Ipoh Hospital, which is one the government-owned hospitals in Perak, is located near the Fairpark and Greentown area. A short distance from there lies the new Ipoh health clinic (also government-owned).
Besides government hospitals, there are also private hospitals (such as Fatimah Hospital, Pantai Puteri Hospital, and Perak Community Specialist Hospital) located around Ipoh.
Sports
There are a few sporting venues in Ipoh. The main sports stadium for football and other track and field events is the Perak Stadium. There is an indoor sports stadium beside it, the Indera Mulia Stadium.
Other sports venues include the Kilat Club in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh Field (Padang Ipoh) in the Old Town, and the Polo Grounds.
Transportation
- The old interstate Route 1 connects Ipoh with neighbouring towns and other states (such as the town of Gopeng up north).
- The new North-South Highway is a faster and more efficient alternative to Route 1. However, certain towns like Kampar can only be accessible via Route 1.
- Ipoh's Railway Station is operated by KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) and is situated in the Old Town (however, it does not have intra-city travel like in Kuala Lumpur).
- The bus terminal is located in Medan Gopeng of the New Town (formerly located in Medan Kidd, Old Town).
- For air travel, the Sultan Azlan Shah airport is the only airport in Ipoh. It is situated near Gunung Rapat.
Ipoh's development
Various development activities has been mooted and revived in the city recently, including the revitalisation of projects halted during the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
Modern entertainment and recreation
The Greentown area near Ipoh City Council Building is fast becoming an entertainment hotspot. The coming online of Greentown Business Center is giving new life to the city centre. The general activities in the new development consists mostly of restaurants, food outlets, and cafés.
Medan Ipoh (formerly known as Metro Ipoh Baru) is a favourite for many younger people. The residents of the city have dubbed the area as Ipoh's very own 'Bangsar' (akin to the hip Bangsar area in Kuala Lumpur). It is located adjacent to Ipoh Garden East. The place is famous for its cluster of nightspots, cafés, coffee shops (serving local food), entertainment outlets and F&B (food and beverage) joints.
The UK giant retailer, Tesco, has recently just opened a new outlet in this area. Kinta City Mall (a popular shopping place for locals, owned by the giant Jusco departmental store chain from Japan) is also located adjacent to Medan Ipoh and Tesco.
The recently opened "Lost World of Tambun" is expected to gain a certain following as Ipoh's own "Sunway City" (mirroring the actual "Sunway City" which is located about 15 km east of Kuala Lumpur). Within the "Lost World of Tambun" is the upgraded and revived natural hot spring, which was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
Arts, entertainment, and culture
Ipoh was regarded by some filmmakers as a good location for shooting due to its beautiful scenery. Movies filmed in Ipoh include:
- Anna and the King (starring Chow Yun-fat and Jodie Foster). The "palace" scenes were filmed at an Ipoh golf course.
- Sepet directed by Yasmin Ahmad.
- Several Bollywood (Indian film industry) movies were also made in Ipoh.