Bangka Island

Bangka has been mined for tin since the eighteenth century and the industry defines it: the island sits on part of the South East Asian tin belt, Chinese labour was brought in from the Qing period to work it and the resulting community shaped the island's food and temples, and the mining continues both industrially and through unregulated small operations. The consequences are visible - thousands of abandoned pits filled with turquoise water, deforested ground, and offshore dredging that has damaged reef and fishing, all of it repeatedly documented. Alongside that, the coast has genuinely fine beaches with the piled granite boulders that the Bangka Belitung islands are known for, at Parai Tenggiri, Matras and Tanjung Pesona, and the food - Bangka noodles, Chinese-Malay seafood - has a following across Indonesia.

History

The Kota Kapur inscription of 686 CE, found on the island in 1920, shows Srivijayan influence in the 7th century, and Bangka appears as Peng-ka hill in the Xingcha Shenglan of 1436, from the voyages of Admiral Zheng He. After rule by Johor, the Minangkabau, Banten and Palembang, tin was found around 1710 and drew migrants, many of them Chinese from Guangdong, the Dutch East India Company secured a tin agreement in 1722, and in 1812 the island was ceded to Britain (Wikipedia, Bangka Island).

The landscape

• Granite boulder beaches - the piled rock coast the province is known for.
• Abandoned tin pits - turquoise flooded workings across the interior.
• Chinese-Malay heritage - the temples, food and community from mining labour.
• Active mining - industrial and unregulated, including offshore dredging.

When to go

March to October. Three days.

What to expect

The mining damage is extensive and visible, and the flooded pits are dangerous to swim in. Offshore dredging has hurt reefs and fisheries. Belitung next door has the better beaches.

Nearby

Belitung is east across the strait; Palembang is on the Sumatran mainland.

Key facts