Singkawang: Why It's Called the "Amoi City"?

The sight of the beautiful ladies of Singkawang, indulging in and relishing Thai Phui Ji fruit salad.

One of the most prevalent is "Amoi City." Why is that?

The Amoi City

In Singkawang, the Hakka people affectionately refer to young girls as "Amoi". Still, they're anything but ordinary. Beautiful. Pure white. Even though they bathe and brush their teeth in the canals and rivers that flow from the mountains, cutting through the city of Singkawang.

 That's the Amoi, the girls of Singkawang. So why is it called the "Amoi City"?

Singkawang, with its thousand faces, Truly lives up to its nickname as the Amoi City.

In this city surrounded by hills and sea, 42%, or even more, of its residents are of Chinese ethnicity. At every street corner, even along various bends and foothills.

You can see sturdy temples standing tall, facing the sky, painted in blood-red hues, locally known in Hakka as "toapekong".

Geographically, Singkawang lies in the equatorial region with coordinates between 0°44’55.85” - 1°01’21.51”LS 108°051’47.6”-109°010’19”BT. Its area covers 504 km². There's also a river that traverses the city, the Singkawang River.

The "Keu" / "Sui" of Singkawang

In the local Hakka dialect, rivers are called "keu". In the olden days, the flowing river served as a bathing spot and even a natural toilet for every resident. 

Strangely, despite bathing in a river whose water isn't crystal clear, it doesn't dull the skin of the Amoi girls. They remain fair, clean, with a golden hue. And still beautiful.

Singkawang, the city of a thousand temples. It has become one of the cultural tourism destinations in West Kalimantan. Its name has been renowned abroad for centuries. Singkawang has captured the hearts of immigrants from China for harboring natural riches beneath its soil.

The Hakka people call this city, surrounded by mountains and rivers, "San Khew Jong". Literally meaning: a region with springs flowing from the mountains to the sea. After living for so long in San Khew Jong (Singkawang in Hakka), many Hakka people have lost track of their ancestors' origins.

Nowadays, the younger generation mostly considers Singkawang their homeland. So it's no wonder that life in Singkawang reflects the essence of a Chinese Town with local flavors.

Singkawang truly lives up to its nickname as the Amoi City. In this city surrounded by hills and sea, 42% or even more of its residents are of Chinese ethnicity. 

At every street corner, even along various bends and foothills, you can see sturdy temples standing tall, facing the sky, painted in blood-red hues, locally known in Hakka as "toapekong".

Thus, besides being known as the Amoi City, Singkawang is also dubbed the "City of a Thousand Temples". 

For centuries, this Chinatown has been home and a place of business for immigrants from Southern Yunnan. In ancient times, when air travel and sea voyages were not as advanced as today, many of them landed in Singkawang by boat after battling fierce sea waves.

In the local Hakka dialect, rivers are called "keu". In the olden days, the flowing river served as a bathing spot and even a natural toilet for every resident. 

Strangely, despite bathing in a river whose water isn't crystal clear, it doesn't dull the skin of the Amoi girls. They remain fair, clean, with a golden hue. And still beautiful.

Many Hakka people have lost track of their ancestors' origins

For generations, after living in San Khew Jong (Singkawang in Hakka), many Hakka people have lost track of their ancestors' origins. Most consider Singkawang their homeland. So it's no wonder that life in Singkawang reflects the essence of a Chinese Town with local flavors.

There's also a river that traverses the city, the Singkawang River. In the local Hakka dialect, rivers are called "keu". 

In the olden days, the flowing river served as a bathing spot and even a natural toilet for every resident. Strangely, despite bathing in a river whose water isn't crystal clear, it doesn't dull the skin of 

the Amoi girls. They remain fair, clean, with a golden hue. And still beautiful.

Singkawang is situated amidst several districts and cities, including Sambas, Bengkayang, and Mempawah. This position makes Singkawang a favorite city for stopovers and visits, both in terms of economy and tourism.

Its dominant red color scheme makes Singkawang known as a city with unique artistic and cultural strengths.

-- Rangkaya Bada