Overview
A delightful mix of cross-cultural influences and traditions, Kuala Lumpur radiates an exciting, enticing charm, which will no doubt pique your interest throughout your stay.
Let the city's warmth embrace you as you lose yourself in its unique blend of tradition, culture, old world charm and new world sophistication. Explore its nooks and crannies, and you'll discover captivating sights, sensational sounds, aromatic smells and fantastic people.
Kuala Lumpur, affectionately known as KL, is an amazing cultural melting pot. Here, you will wander through communities of Chinese, Malays, South Indians, East Malaysian ethnic groups, Thais, Indonesians, Sikhs and a huge community of expats. Each community offering its own festivals, food, music, art and fashion while influencing each other's cultures.
KL has a lively nightlife scene and a fascinating art and performance culture, which blends contemporary and traditional styles from many backgrounds. There is the widest range of sporting activities available with state-of -the-art facilities to impress any sporting enthusiast. The architecture is somewhat eccentric and is certainly unique, from hundred year old mansions to awe-inspiring sky scrapers, and all within metres of each other. Treat your tastebuds to Kuala Lumpur's extremely varied cuisine, which is certainly a tasty adventure in itself! Above all else KL is a shopping haven, offering everything from street side trinkets to haute couture.
The resulting kaleidoscope of cultures, costumes and cuisines is nothing short of a whirlwind for the senses - more intense here than anywhere else in the country.
History
In the 1850's, Raja Abdullah, a member of the Selangor royal family, opened up the Klang Valley to tin prospectors. Within a short time, the Ampang area in Kuala Lumpur became a thriving tin mine.
As a result, merchants and tin prospectors established a trading post at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, hence Kuala Lumpur's name, which means ‘muddy estuary' in Malay.
Rival factions disputing the tin claims led to bloody feuds and wars. However, that was rectified under the able leadership of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, the third leader of the Chinese community appointed by the British
It was then the sleepy mining town overcame its troubles and boomed into an important commercial hub. The town's success led the British Resident Sir Frank Swettenham to elevate it to be the state capital of Selangor in 1880.
The following year, Kuala Lumpur was burnt down in yet another feud and rebuilt using brick and tile to replace the hazardous attap or wooden houses. The completion of a railway connecting the town to Port Klang in 1886 further fuelled Kuala Lumpur's growth.
Economy
Kuala Lumpur's economy - the booming heart of the national economy - is diversified with a good mix of industrial, commercial and tourism activities.
In the last three decades, as urbanisation has replaced agricultural lands within the Federal Territory, KL has focused very much on high-tech industries as well as the lucrative service industries, specifically commercial and tourism.
Tourism in particular has boomed over the last decade as KL gained an international appeal among travellers as that of Malaysia condensed into a manageable, walkable, colourful city.
As such, tourism has taken on an increasingly important role in the future of KL's economy.
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