Bukit China

Bukit China covers about twenty-five hectares of low hill on the edge of the Malacca centre and holds something like twelve thousand graves, the oldest dating to the Ming period, which makes it the largest and oldest Chinese burial ground outside China itself. Tradition connects the hill to the Ming princess Hang Li Poh, said to have been sent to marry the Sultan of Malacca in the fifteenth century with a retinue that settled here - a story whose historicity is disputed but which is central to how Malacca's Chinese community tells its own origins. At the foot is the Sam Poh Kong temple and the Hang Li Poh well, a spring that supplied the town and was fought over repeatedly. Attempts to develop the hill in the 1980s met organised resistance and it was preserved.

History

Local tradition says that in the mid-15th century the princess Hang Li Po was sent to marry Sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca, who gave her this hill as a residence, and that her followers dug the Perigi Raja well at its foot. With two adjoining hills it now forms a Chinese graveyard of over 250,000 square metres with more than 12,000 graves, some from the Ming dynasty (Wikipedia, Bukit Cina).

What to look for

• Twelve thousand graves - Ming period onwards, over twenty-five hectares.
• The Hang Li Poh well - the disputed spring at the foot of the hill.
• Sam Poh Kong temple - at the base, tied to the same tradition.
• Open hillside paths - used by local walkers early and late.

When to go

All year; early morning is coolest. Two hours. Qingming in April brings families to the graves.

Things to know

It is a working cemetery - be respectful, especially during Qingming. The hill is exposed with almost no shade. Grass and undergrowth can be high; watch for snakes.

Nearby

The Malacca old town, St Paul's Hill and Jonker Street are a short walk.

Key facts