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Ipoh 怡保 ஈப்போ
Nickname(s): 'City of Millionaires' or 'Bougainvillea City'
Ipoh
Coordinates: 4°36′00″N 101°4′00″E / 4.6°N 101.0666667°E / 4.6; 101.0666667
Country	Malaysia
State	Perak
Establishment	Around 1880
Government
• Mayor	Datuk Haji Roshidi Hashim
Area
• Total	643 km2 (248.268 sq mi)
Elevation	21.95 m (72 ft)
Population (2007)
• Total	710,798 (6th)
• Density	1,002.80/km2 (2,597.20/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC)
Website	http://www.mbi.gov.my

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Coordinates: 4°36′N 101°04′E / 04.60°N 101.07°E / 04.60; 101.07

Ipoh ( /ˈiːpoʊ/) is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km (125 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway.

Ipoh developed into one of Malaysia's main cities around the turn of the 19th century due to the booming tin mining industry. During the British colonial era, Ipoh was Malaysia's second city for administrative purposes. Architecturally, the city centre is characterised by colonial era Chinese shop houses. There are also several impressive historical buildings from the British Colonial era such as the Railway Station, the Town Hall and the Court House. Economically, the city's growth stagnated following the collapse in tin prices in the 1970s, so a very large proportion of the historical buildings still exist and function, in contrast to cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore where a greater proportion of the colonial era buildings have now been demolished.

70% of Ipoh's population is of Chinese origin.

History[link]

Ipoh came into existence in the 1820s as a village at the highest navigable point of the Kinta River ^[1]. It was less prominent at that time compared to the early mining town of Gopeng, 20 km south of Ipoh. Following the great fire of 1892 ^[2], the town was rebuilt.

Ipoh Railway Station

From the turn of the early 20th century, when more British tin-mining companies were set up in the city, Ipoh gained greater prominence. Influential institutions such as The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China Limited opened offices in Ipoh in 1902. It provided credit to the Straits Trading Company and later the Eastern Smelting Company. More Colonial-era firms started to set up offices in the booming town such as the stockbroker Botly and Co., A.H Whittaker & Co., Chartered Accounts, Evatt & Co., and Estate Visiting Agents Milne & Stevens.

Town Hall

Its geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of growth. It grew rapidly as a mining town, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. A local Hakka miner, millionaire Yau Tet-Shin started developing a large tract of the city in the early 1930s, today known as the New Town section of the city from the eastern bank of the Kinta River to Greentown ^[3].

Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15 December 1941. During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, in place of Taiping. In March 1942, the Japanese Civil Administration or Perak Shu Seicho had been set up at the St. Michael's Institution. After the liberation of Malaya by British forces, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak, till this day.^[4]

In the 1950s, Ipoh was characterised by the proliferation of large numbers of cinema halls, amusement parks, cabarets and night life^{[citation needed]}. Two of the largest entertainment groups then, the Cathay Organisation and Shaw Brothers Company had set up cinema chains in Ipoh. Ipoh was also one of the four original towns served by Malayan Airways (now Malaysia Airlines), the other three being Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

With the collapse of tin prices and the closure of the tin mines in the late 1970s, Ipoh's growth stagnated and resulted in migration to other parts of Malaysia (particularly metropolitan areas such as Kuala Lumpur) and Singapore.

Ipoh currently has a vibrant food scene with a vast proliferation of hawker centres and restaurants. It is well known for dishes such as "Sar Hor Fun" (Chinese: 沙河粉). Other dishes from Ipoh include "Hor Hee", flat white rice noodles served with fish cakes and/or fish balls, "Nga Choi Kai" (Chinese: 芽菜鸡), a chicken fillet with soy sauce and beansprouts with pepper spread on top, "Hakka Mee" (Chinese: 客家面), yellow rice noodles served with mince meat (pork) sauce and "Heong Peng" (Chinese: 香饼), a type of biscuit. Ipoh is known in Malaysia for its "Ipoh white coffee".

Cityscape[link]

Today, "Ipoh" usually refers to the territory under administration of Ipoh City Council or Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, which includes the smaller towns adjacent to the city such as Pengkalan, Silibin, Chemor, Jelapang, Menglembu and Tanjung Rambutan.

[edit] The Old Town

The Old Town is located to the west of the Kinta River. There is a vibrant commercial district with many historical 'shop-houses' centred around Leech Street (Chinese: 烈治街; now Jalan Bandar Timah). Other notable features include:

• The Ipoh railway station in neo-classical/Edwardian Baroque style nicknamed the "Taj Mahal of Ipoh".

• Ipoh Town Hall, an Edwardian Baroque municipal building located across the road from the Railway Station.

• Padang Ipoh or Ipoh Field is located on Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam. The field is surrounded by historic buildings that feature classic colonial architecture, including the mock-Tudor style Ipoh Club, FMS Bar, HSBC Building and the magnificent St Michael's Institution secondary school.

• The Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh, officially named SMK Methodist (ACS), is located along Lahat Road.

Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh

• Muzium Darul Ridzuan is a historical museum of Perak, located in a pretty former tin-mining tycoon's mansion on Jalan Kuala Kangsar.

[edit] The New Town

The so-called "New Town", to the east of the Kinta River, was developed by Yau Tet Shin around 1908 ^[5]. The New Town houses the Perak Medical University and Ipoh City Hall building, among others. There are numerous shops, shopping malls, and hotels.

D. R. Seenivasagam Park (Coronation Park), located in the heart of Ipoh (New Town), is known for its scenic beauty and recreational facilities. It comprises recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with fish, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. The latest addition is the newly landscaped Japanese garden featuring a Japanese carp pond.

From the late 1980s Greentown, located beside the New Town, was transformed from old government quarters to an administrative and commercial centre of Ipoh, often overshadowing both the Old Town and New Town.

Sports[link]

There are a few sporting venues in Ipoh. A portion of land located in the Kampong Simee area has been selected by the City Council for the Sport Center. The main sports stadium for football (soccer) and other track and field events is the Perak Stadium. There is an indoor sports stadium beside it, the Indera Mulia Stadium, playing host to events such as badminton. Ipoh is also home for the Perak Football Association.

Ipoh has Malaysia's first velodrome, Velodrom Rakyat (The People's Velodrome), costing RM 3.25 million; funds were raised in a country-wide donation drive (led by Tan Sri Darshan Singh Gill). In addition, Ipoh has an Astroturf stadium for hockey, the Azlan Shah Stadium.

For golf, the courses are the Royal Perak Golf Club off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (Tiger Lane), the Meru Golf Club in Jelapang, and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Club en route to Batu Gajah.

Other sports venues include the Kilat Club in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh Field (Padang Ipoh) in the Old Town, the Polo Grounds, and the Iskandar Polo Club, in Ampang Baru.

Geography[link]

Topography[link]

Ipoh is located within the state of Perak, which is in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The city is located in the middle of the Kinta Valley, on the bank of the Kinta River and the confluence of smaller rivers, namely Sungai Pinji and Sungai Pari. The city is surrounded by limestone hills, which can be found around suburban areas to the northeast, east and southeast of the city.^[6]

The Kledang mountain range stretches from the north to the west of the city. This range runs parallel to the Bintang mountain range with the Perak River flowing on its left bank and the Kinta River to its right. This range is interrupted to the north of Ipoh by a tributary of the Perak River called the Pelus River, which is sourced from the Titiwangsa mountain range, which runs to the east of Ipoh.^[7]

Limestone caves, mountains and lakes.[link]

The Gua Tempurung Limestone Caves

Ipoh is surrounded by limestone caves due to the surrounding karst formations especially the Tempurung Cave which is the largest and deepest in Peninsula Malaysia. The Sam Po Tong (Chinese 三宝洞; Cavern of Three Precious) temple, is a Chinese temple built within a limestone cave. Its sister temple, Perak Tong (Chinese 霹雳洞; Perak Cave), has a steep staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where there is a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings. The statue of Buddha in Perak Tong was the tallest and largest of its kind in Malaysia when first commissioned. Both these cavern temples have vegetarian food available.

The Kek Lok Tong (Chinese 极乐洞; Cavern of Utmost Happiness) is a cave temple that lies on the other side of the same range of limestone hills as Sam Poh Tong. It is accessible through the Gunung Rapat housing area. It has a cleaner, quieter and more cooling environment and has the best scenic cave view.

Limestone hills extend 20 km north of Ipoh and also 20 km to the south. There are many caves in these hills; cave temples are built in some of these caves.^[8] Gua Tempurung, near Gopeng south of Ipoh, is a show cave open to the public.

Sam Poh Tong, one of the many beautiful temples located in Ipoh‎

Lakes in Ipoh include the Taiping Lake Gardens and the Lang Mountain Lakes.

Lang Mountains in Ipoh

Gua Tempurung is a cave in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia. It is popular among spelunkers, or caving enthusiasts. More than 3 km long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. Part of it has been developed as a show cave with electric lighting and walkways and there are tours of different lengths and difficulty. A fine river cave, the river passage runs about 1.6 km through the hill. There are five very large chambers and some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites.

Governance[link]

The Ipoh City Council governs the city of Ipoh. Roshidi Hashim, appointed in 2008, is the Mayor of Ipoh.^[9]

Ipoh is divided into two parliamentary constituencies, Ipoh Barat (Ipoh West) and Ipoh Timur (Ipoh East). The parliamentary seat for Ipoh Timur is held by DAP Representative, Lim Kit Siang while the seat for Ipoh Barat is held by fellow DAP leader, M. Kulasegaran.^[10]

Demographics[link]

Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities. Today, Ipoh is the fourth largest city in Malaysia. As of 2009, it has a population of 702,464, with a total urban area population of 1,143,778.^[11] It ranks as the sixth most populous urban centre in Malaysia. (2007)^[12]

Census statistics[link]

The following is based on Ipoh City Hall statistics, 2004.^[13][14]

census

Toponymy[link]

The name Ipoh is derived from a local tree, Pohon Epu or now more commonly known as Pokok Ipoh. The sap of this plant is poisonous and was used by Orang Asli (Indigenous Peoples in Malay) to coat the tips of the darts of their blowpipes for hunting purposes.

Nicknames for Ipoh[link]

The Town Built on Tin (Chinese: 锡城) and City of Millionaires (Chinese: 富城) referring to the vast fortunes made during the boom of the tin mining industries.

Affectionately called Paloh till today (Chinese: 壩羅) by the local Chinese, referring to the gigantic mining pumps used for early tin ore extraction.

The Bougainvillea City (Chinese: 杜鹃花城) referring to Bougainvillea as the symbol flower of the city.

The Hill City (Chinese: 山城) referring to Ipoh being centre and surrounded by hills.

Transportation[link]

• Trunk roads: The old interstate Route 1 connects Ipoh with neighboring towns and other states (such as the town of Gopeng, Tanjung Malim and city of Kuala Lumpur down south).
• Highway: The new North-South Expressway is a faster and more efficient alternative to Route 1. However, certain towns like Kampar can only be accessible via Route 1. Drivers using the North-South highway can exit into Ipoh from any of these four exits – Simpang Pulai, South Ipoh (Ipoh(S)) or North Ipoh (Ipoh(U)) & Jelapang.
• Train: Ipoh's railway station is operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and is situated in the Old Town (however, it does not have intra-city travel like in Kuala Lumpur). The railway only connects Ipoh with neighbouring towns and cities. The railway station is a stately building, referred to by locals as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh. KTM Intercity began the Shuttle Train Service between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh from December 1, 2008 while the modern Electric Train System (ETS) shuttle began from 12 August 2010 with average 145kmh speed, plying Ipoh-Seremban route, cut the travelling distance between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur into 120 minutes. There are 10 dedicated shuttle train services between these two cities daily which begins at 5am from both the stations. Travel time between the cities expected to be reduced from three hours to two hours and fifteen minutes when the new set of EMU trains arrive in mid 2009.^[15]
• Bus: The inter-city bus terminal is located at Silveritage Galleria along Gopeng Road nearby Gunung Rapat, south of Ipoh (formerly situated in Medan Kidd, Old Town) to Ipoh Terminal Bus Station.
• Air: the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport is the only airport in Ipoh. It is situated near Gunung Rapat. However, only domestic flights (and limited international ones) are available at this airport.
• Firefly provides two daily flights out of Ipoh to Singapore Changi Airport while Silverfly provides flights to Medan, Indonesia.^[16]

Notable people[link]

• Film and Television:

Angie Cheung Mimi Chu Iqram Dinzly Mamat Khalid Peter Pek Afdlin Shauki Patrick Teoh Dato' Michelle Yeoh Rashidi Ishak

• Music: Michael Wong

Adibah Noor Shila Ning Baizura, Francissca Peter

• Sports: (Badminton): Koo Kien Keat,

Choong Tan Fook Lee Wan Wah Cheah Soon Kit Wong Pei Tty Wong Mew Choo

• Sports: (Football): Azizul Abu Hanifah, Chan Kok Heng, Muhamad Khalid Jamlus
• Sports: (Others): Tony Underwood (Rugby), Yap Suo Kuen (Netball), Leong Mee Wan (Table Tennis)
• Business: Dr. Ho Kai Cheong (founder of Ho Yan Hor Herbal Tea)

David Ho Sue San of Hovid Berhad & Carotech Berhad Lee Loy Seng (founder of Kuala Lumpure Keping Berhad) Lee Oi Hian (current CEO of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, eldest son of Lee Loy Seng) Lim A. Heng of Yee Lee Edible Oil (Red Eagle Oil)

Ngan Yin (Ngan Yin Hand Brand Groundnut)

Dr. Wong Jeh Shyan prominent venture capitalist and CEO of CommerceNet Singapore Limited

• Politics: Yeoh Ghim Seng, Yeoh Kian Teik, Dr Yeoh Eng Kiong, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, D. R. Seenivasagam, Lim Keng Yaik, Lee Lam Thye, Elizabeth Wong
• Historical: Leong Sin Nam, Dr Wu Lien Teh, Foo Choo Choon, Leong Fee, Chung Thye Phin, Eu Tong Sen
• Other Personalities: Chan Sek Keong (Chief Justice of Singapore); Lat (Cartoonist)

Film and television[link]

Movies filmed in Ipoh include:

• 1992: Indochine
• 1999: Anna and the King
• 2002: Embun
• 2003: Paloh
• 2003: Kadhal Kisu Kisu'
• 2004: Tun Tan Cheng Lock^{[citation needed]}
• 2005: Sepet
• 2005: Gubra
• 2006: After This Our Exile (Chinese 父子)
• 2006: Goodbye Boys
• 2006: Lust, Caution (Chinese 色，戒)
• 2007: Mualaf
• 2008: Talentime

Sister cities[link]

Sister cities of Ipoh include:

• San Jose, California, United States
• Dallas, Texas, United States
• Fukuoka (福岡), Japan^[17]
• Nanning (Chinese 南宁), China^[18]
• Guangzhou (Chinese 广州), China
• Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Bali, Indonesia

Gallery[link]

• Gallery of panoramic and street view images from Ipoh
• Ipoh City 2.jpg

  Ipoh skyline from Casuarina Hotel

• 

  Street view of "Greentown Walk" in New Town, overlooking Syuen Hotel near Greentown

• 

  Anglo Chinese School in Ipoh

• 

  Ipoh Railway Station

• Ipoh 66.jpg

  View overlooking Convent School from Ipoh Parade shopping mall in New Town

• 

  The Lang Mountains in Ipoh

• 

  Ipoh Shops

• 

  Kellie's Castle

• 

  HSBC Ipoh branch, the oldest operating bank in Ipoh

• 

  Ipoh Old Town, partially overlooking Ipoh Padang

Climate[link]

Ipoh features a tropical rainforest climate. Temperatures show little variation throughout the year. The city's average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius. Ipoh sees high precipitation throughout the year, averaging 2340 mm of rain per year. The wettest month is November where on average 320 mm of rain is seen. Ipoh's driest month is February which sees 70 mm of rain fall on average.

See also[link]

• List of roads in Ipoh
• List of Ipoh areas

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ipoh

• Ipoh travel guide from Wikitravel

v t e Perak Darul Ridzuan Districts Kinta Larut, Matang dan Selama Hilir Perak Manjung Batang Padang Kerian Kuala Kangsar Hulu Perak Perak Tengah Kampar Cities Ipoh (capital) Towns Alor Pongsu Ayer Tawar Bagan Datoh Bagan Serai Bagan Sungai Burong Banir Batak Rabit Batu Gajah Behrang Bercham Beruas Bidor Bikam Bota Bukit Gantang Bukit Merah Changkat Jering Changkat Keruing Chemor Chenderiang Chenderong Balai Chikus Damar Laut Gerik Gopeng Gua Tempurung Hutan Melintang Jelapang Jenderata Jerlun Kamunting Kampar Kampung Gajah Karai Kota Baharu Kota Setia Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kurau Kuala Sepetang Langkap Lekir Lenggong Lumut Manjoi Malim Nawar Mambang Di Awan Manong Menglembu Padang Rengas Pantai Remis Parit Parit Buntar Pasir Salak Pekan Gurney Pengkalan Hulu (Kroh) Proton City Selama Semanggol Seri Iskandar Seri Manjung Simpang Tiga Sitiawan Slim Slim River Sungai Siput Sungkai Taiping Tambun Tanjung Belanja Tanjung Malim Tanjung Piandang Tanjung Rambutan Tanjung Tualang Tapah Tapah Road Teluk Batik Teluk Intan Teluk Rubiah Temoh Temoh Station Trolak Terong Teronoh Ulu Bernam Villages FELDA Besout Padang Gajah Sayong Kampung Kuala Slim Kampung Pintu Gerbang Islands Pulau Pangkor Pulau Pangkor Laut Pulau Banding Townships Bandar Meru Raya Sunway City Ipoh Special Zones Northern Corridor Economic Region (Northern Perak)