City guide · Kuala Lumpur 吉隆坡
Kuala Lumpur
A tin-mining town where two rivers meet grew into a capital beneath twin towers
In Malay, Kuala Lumpur means 'muddy confluence'. The Petronas Twin Towers, mosques, Hindu temples and Chinatown share one city, and Malay, Nyonya and Indian food and Hokkien mee are everyday fare. Batu Caves on the northern outskirts is a Hindu holy site.
History
How the city came to be
Kuala Lumpur was opened up around 1857 by Raja Abdullah, at first as a small town serving the surrounding tin mines. It lies where the Gombak and Klang rivers meet, and its name means 'muddy confluence'. The early town suffered from the Selangor Civil War, disease, fire and floods; in 1881 it was hit first by a fire and then by a flood. The Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy and the British official Frank Swettenham led its rebuilding and growth in the late 19th century. From 1880 to 1978 it was the capital of Selangor, and it later became capital of the Federation of Malaya and of Malaysia.
- c. 1857A town developed for tin mining
- 1880Became capital of Selangor
- 1881Rebuilt after a fire followed by floods
- 1891The Hindu temple at Batu Caves was founded
- 1957Malaya became independent, with Kuala Lumpur as its capital
Stories
Stories of the city
History · Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Yap Ah Loy and the muddy river mouth
Kuala Lumpur means 'muddy confluence' in Malay; the city began around 1857 as a tin-mining town where the Gombak and Klang rivers meet. Yap Ah Loy from Guangdong came to the Malay Peninsula as a miner at 19 and later became Kuala Lumpur's third Kapitan Cina. The Selangor Civil War nearly razed the town and flooded the mines, and fires, floods and disease followed repeatedly — in 1881 a great fire was followed immediately by a flood. Yap Ah Loy led the rebuilding of the town and the revival of tin mining, and also opened brickworks. Today's capital beneath the Twin Towers grew out of that muddy confluence.
History · Batu Caves
A cave mouth shaped like a spear
The entrance to Batu Caves is shaped very like the vel, the divine spear held by Lord Murugan, and this is said to be what convinced the Tamil merchant Thamboosamy Pillai to build a temple in the cave. The temple was completed in 1891, and the Thaipusam festival began the following year. At first devotees had to climb the hill unaided to reach the temple; wooden steps were installed in 1920, began to rot in the 1930s, and in 1940 were replaced by today's 272 concrete steps.
People
People connected with Kuala Lumpur
Local life
Food and local daily life
Before you go
Rules to know in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia: pass things and eat with your right hand
- Use your right hand to eat with your fingers, to pass and receive things, and to shake hands
- To point the way, make a loose fist and point with your right thumb
- Pointing at people or things with your index finger
Not illegal, but seen as rude.
Not yet verifiedSource: Tourism Malaysia: travel guide