{"id":645,"date":"2026-10-02T04:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/?page_id=645"},"modified":"2026-10-02T04:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:36:18","slug":"ampenan-a-walk-through-time","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/ampenan-a-walk-through-time\/","title":{"rendered":"AMPENAN\u2026 A Walk Through Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AMPENAN\u2026 A Walk Through Time<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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To many people driving through the town, Ampenan seems like just another small Indonesian city. But behind the bustle of the main roads lies a fascinating story of the time when the city was the original port for Lombok and known locally as \u201cNew York\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kota Tua Ampenan (the old city of Ampenan) is the oldest town on Lombok and was once the capital city of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The port is located on the west coast, overlooking the Lombok Strait and bordered to the north by the Flores Sea and to the south by the Indian Ocean. In addition, Ampenan Port was once in the middle of long trade routes in Asia: between Australia – Singapore – India, and the Australia – Manila – China routes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The strategic location of the port also linked Lombok with the other islands throughout the Indonesian archipelago, enabling trade to flow between islands like Java and Sulawesi through to Sumbawa, Flores and the spice islands to the east; and making it important stopover for English, European, Chinese, Indian and Arab traders on the spice trade route during the 1800\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, Lombok had a surplus rice production, which was exported throughout Indonesia and to the Philippines, China and even Mauritius. Rice, tobacco and coconut oil were all major export commodities for Lombok, as well as cattle and horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In return, Lombok imported weapons, opium, and liquor from Singapore and India, and gold, silver and textiles from Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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As trade grew, the port town became increasingly crowded. While the Sasak people are native to Lombok, the island has also been inhabited for centuries by the Balinese and, as trade increased, Ampenan became a melting pot for a mixture of ethnicities such as Javanese, Malay, Banjar from Kalimantan, Bugis sailors from Sulawesi, Timor, Chinese and Arab traders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ampenan Port became even more important when the Dutch colonised Lombok in the early 20th<\/sup> century and made Ampenan a transit port to the eastern part of the Dutch East Indies in 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Peacock King, a foreign trader from England, and Mads Lange from Denmark settled and established trading offices in Ampenan. The port became the driving force behind infrastructure on the island, as the Dutch directed local labourers to build roads and bridges to transport goods from across the island to the harbour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The main road to the port, Jalan Pabean, was once a bustling main thoroughfare called Lombokstraat<\/em> in Dutch (Lombok Street), which extended from the harbour to the main bridge over the Jangkok River in Ampenan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ampenan area has many buildings left over from the Dutch East Indies colonial period that are more than a century old. Many of these buildings surrounding the port were warehouses used to store goods and crops, particularly rice, which was dried and processed at the port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ampenan Port also influenced the development of society on the island. Ethnic Chinese bought goods from Arab traders, Arab and Chinese traders needed local people to work, local people needed jobs to make a living. Settlements expanded outwards from Ampenan, as far as Gunung Sari and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Dutch organised kampung<\/em> (subdistricts) in Ampenan according to ethnicity: Kampung Chinese (China Town), Kampung Arab, Kampung Bugis, Kampung Melayu, Kampung Java, Kampung Bali, and Kampung Banjar. These subdistricts still exist today, housing the population of Ampenan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this increased population, came the need for supporting infrastructure \u2013 schools, offices, banks, shops and so on. At one time, there was even two cinemas (bioskop<\/em>) in Ampenan!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the buildings standing today include the Dutch Colonial buildings that served as offices and warehouses, the old Customs Office, the first Chinese School (Chung Hua School) in Kampung <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Melayu, the Dutch Commercial Bank (Nederlands Indische Handelsbank), the Po Hwa Kong Kelenteng building, which was a place of worship for the Chinese community, the old Post Office, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wander through the back streets near the old harbour opens up a fascinating insight into the history of Ampenan. Dutch Colonial architecture is everywhere, as are examples of Art Deco architecture, and even Peranakan style buildings, similar to those seen in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many of these old buildings are in disrepair and poorly maintained, and it is difficult to know where to look without the help of a guide to point them out and bring their story to life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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AMPENAN WALKING TOURS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lombok Heritage Science Society (LHSS), or more simply \u201cLombok Heritage\u201d is a group of enthusiastic local people dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Made up of students and historians, and people who simply love their island, the group are committed to highlighting the rich history of Lombok, which has been mostly uncelebrated until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lombok Heritage is now offering guided walking tours to several places on the island, including around Ampenan, which offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of the old port city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Ampenan Walking Tour starts in the early morning and lasts between 2.5 – 3 hours, starting from the port and travelling through the small streets that weave through the different kampung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The friendly and knowledgeable guides speak English and will guide you to the places of interest and explain the history behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottled water and lunch at a local warung<\/em> (caf\u00e9) are provided and provide an excellent opportunity to meet the local people and sample some delicious, authentic Lombok food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To arrange a tour with Lombok Heritage, please contact Fendy on 0818 0369 5767<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To many people driving through the town, Ampenan seems like just another small Indonesian city. But behind the bustle of the main roads lies a fascinating story of the time when the city was the original port for Lombok and known locally as \u201cNew York\u201d! Kota Tua Ampenan (the old city of Ampenan) is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"superbaddons-page-template","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-645","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":659,"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/645\/revisions\/659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelombokguide.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}