64
{ }
J A K A R T A = M A N I L A
There are
Buddhist temples
in Jakarta
Chinatown,
Indonesia-style
The Chinese were here long before any
Europeans arrived. They first came to
trade, then eventually settled as the
region developed. Proof of this is found
in the presence of Chinese enclaves
in practically every major South-East
Asian city. Manila’s Binondo district is
an example; in Jakarta, the most well-
known
pecinan
(
Chinatown) is Glodok.
Like most other Chinatowns, this
neighborhood sports a business-
oriented, blue-collar vibe. Unlike its
counterparts, however, Glodok wears
its ethnicity in a rather subdued way.
On these streets, Chinese store signs
are a rarity and native Chinese names
are almost unheard-of. But look hard
enough and you’ll notice the herbal
medicine halls and the sundry shops,
all engaged in that typically Chinese
manner of no-nonsense commerce.
Explore long enough, too, and you’re
bound to come across the Jin De Yuan
temple, one of the few Buddhist shrines
in this Muslim-majority city.
A devotee lights
a candle inside the
Jin De Yuan temple;
(
right) blue collar
commerce lines the
streets of the
Glodok district.
