Kuala Lumpur: Chinatown Is in the Building Fronts

Under the bright sun, the broad, straight roads stretch out in all four directions, the shade of the lush foliage adds a tropical flavor, and the high rises are lined up like the scales of a fish--This is Kuala Lumpur, the capital city for Malaysia's government, economy, arts and education as well as one of the world's most famous cities.

On Old Streets, "The Sparrow Becomes the Phoenix": Let us go back to the black and white images of 150 years ago. There was no trace of the curre nt city. Chinese workers had landed at the mouth of the Kelang River and were working in the tin mines. It is said that the name Kuala Lumpur has its origin in Chinese dialect and meant the muddy mouth of a river.

The mouth of the Kelang River is today still an expanse of yellow mud, full of garbage, and the neighboring district is what foreigners call China-town, one of the oldest parts of the city, probably containing the last traditional streets in Kuala Lumpur. It has several streets connected together, a short one of which is named after the heroic city builder Yap Ah Loy. At that time he had an office here from which he planned the model for the present city step by step.

In the so-called "Chinatown," both sides of the street maintain architecture in the traditional style with shops on the first floor fronted by a covered arcade, giving pedestrians shelter from the sun and rain. On the second floor are residences, with glass windows or windows with long strips of wood to provide light. This kind "straits mixed style" of combining commercial and residential housing could be seen in the several major cities of Malaysia as well as in early Singapore and Taiwan. Here people's social activities and economic modes are like those of the past: the street is lined with old shops, interspersed with clubs for those whose ancestors came from the same place in China. Vendors' stands are jumbled together and at noon the place is jam-packed with people as it reverberates with the hubbub of their voices. Today the Malaysian government is preparing to stamp out the long-practiced littering and exorbitant prices quoted to begin haggling for all of Retaling Street. It also is planning to sponsor a street carnival this year to help to turn the place into a "shopping heaven" for tourists.

Compromise--Preserving the Fronts: For this neighborhood, a preservation plan to preserve the fronts of these buildings has already been going on for two years. More than a hundred old buildings have been torn down, with only their old two-story fronts remaining, standing in the midst of brick and stone rubble. Behind a few fronts, steel has already been placed for the upward building of office buildings or shopping malls. These plans will introduce a new use for these old spaces, and allow the area's 100 years of Chinese economic vibrancy to be opened up to other ethnic groups. Chiu Juhua, the head of administration for the Yao Shan Culture Foundation, who has been to Malaysia several times on official visits, points out that this method of "preserving the fronts" has quite possibly been influenced by the historical preservation of Singapore. Several years ago Singapore similarly renovated the area near China Street, making it into a hot spot for tourists--though most preservation experts think "they didn't do a very good job."

"What makes preserving fronts so precious is not the technique itself but rather for the concept of treasuring historical sites. In consideration of the whole city, by implementing a compromise form of preservation for Chinese relics, the Malaysian government is preventing a special characteristic of the city from forever being lost," said Chiu Ju-hua.

At noon the streets are throbbing with the hustle and bustle of the crowds. Students out of school are pushing their way through the shop-front arcade. A few years later, when they are by the side of a high rise, will they remember the way it used to be?

[Picture Caption]

The plans for preserving building fronts have been undertaken for more than two years. All but the fronts of old buildings have been torn down in preparation for the building of office buildings or shopping centers.

In the Chinatown district of Kuala Lumpur, where the city began, the buildings still maintain their traditional appearance. The people's social activities and way of doing business are little changed from those of the past.

Shops are on the first floor, with a covered arcade for pedestrians in front, and residences are on the second floor. This kind of "mixed straits style" shouldn't be unfamiliar to those who live in Taiwan.

Next to the Chinese Meeting Hall is the Chan See Shu Yuen Temple, laid out identically to its counterpart in Canton.

The ancestral tablet of Yap Ah Loy can be found in a Penang Temple. A builder of Kuala Lumpur, he is a hero to the Chinese.

The carved beams ought still to be there--it's just they've taken on a new appearance. In the changing physical world, only architecture can reveal the images of an earlier age.

In the Chinatown district of Kuala Lumpur, where the city began, the buildings still maintain their traditional appearance. The people's social activities and way of doing business are little changed from those of the past.

Shops are on the first floor, with a covered arcade for pedestrians in front, and residences are on the second floor. This kind of "mixed straits style" shouldn't be unfamiliar to those who live in Taiwan.

Next to the Chinese Meeting Hall is the Chan See Shu Yuen Temple, laid out identically to its counterpart in Canton.

The ancestral tablet of Yap Ah Loy can be found in a Penang Temple. A builder of Kuala Lumpur, he is a hero to the Chinese.

The carved beams ought still to be there--it's just they've taken on a new appearance. In the changing physical world, only architecture can reveal the images of an earlier age.