Malacca City (Malay:Bandaraya Melaka orKota Melaka) is thecapital city of theMalaysian state ofMalacca. It isthe oldest Malaysian city on theStraits of Malacca, having become a successfulentrepôt in the era of theMalacca Sultanate. The present-day city was founded byParameswara, a Sumatran prince who escaped to theMalay Peninsula whenSrivijaya fell to theMajapahit. Following the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate, the city drew the attention of traders from the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the Portuguese, who intended to dominate the trade route in Asia. After Malacca was conquered byPortugal, the city became an area of conflict when the sultanates ofAceh andJohor attempted to take control from the Portuguese.
Following a number of wars between these territories, Aceh declined in influence while Johor survived and expanded its influence over territory previously lost to Aceh in Sumatra whenJohor co-operated with the Dutch to take Malacca from the Portuguese who arrived to establish dominance overJava andMaluku Islands. However, due to royal internal strife between the Malay and Bugis, the Johor-Riau Empire was divided into the sultanates of Johor andRiau-Lingga. This separation became permanent when the British arrived to establish their presence in the Malay Peninsula. The Dutch, who already felt threatened in the presence of the British, began conquering the Riau-Lingga Sultanate along with the rest of Sumatra, while Johor came under British influence following the signing of theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
When the British succeeded in extending their influence over the Malay Peninsula, the city soon became an area of development under theStraits Settlements as part of theBritish Empire. The development and burgeoning prosperity were, however, halted when the Japanese arrived inWorld War II andoccupied the area from 1942 to 1945. During the occupation, many of the city's residents were taken and forced to construct theDeath Railway inBurma (present-dayMyanmar). After the war, the city was returned to the British and remained as the capital of Malacca. The status as a capital remained until the formation ofMalaysia in 1963, and in 2008 it was listed, together withGeorge Town ofPenang, as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site for its long history.[4] As of 2019 it has a population of 579,000.[1]
According to legend, the site that is now Malacca City was namedMalaka whenParameswara, a Sumatran prince arrived there. While he was resting under a tree known as aMalacca tree,[5] he saw his warrior's hunting dogs were challenged and kicked into a river by a tinymouse deer.[6] Amused by this, he chose to name the siteMalaka after the tree under which he was sitting.[7]
There are at least two other theories on the origin the naming of Malacca: Tomé Pires explains the name in theSuma Oriental as a transliteration of the term for a fugitive,Malaqa, reflecting Parameswara's history as one, and theMalay Annals themselves suggest that Arab merchants called the kingdomMalakat (Arabic for 'congregation of merchants') during the reign ofMuhammad Shah (1424–1444), because it was home to many trading communities.[8]
Malacca was established whenParameswara, who had escaped fromPalembang in Sumatra, decided to build a new kingdom following MalaySrivijaya's fall in 1377 after being attacked by JavaneseMajapahit.[6][11] Before he reached the site, he arrived inTemasek, which he decided to make the centre of the new Malay Kingdom's administration. But when Parameswara lived there, he killed Temagi, aRegent of Singapura who served under theSiamese King to take over the throne from Temagi.[12] Fearing further reprisals by Siam when the news reached theSiamese Kingdom, Parameswara decided to move to a new place. After he left Temasek, it was attacked by Majapahit.[11] Parameswara then headed to the north ofMalay Peninsula and arrived atMuar, where he tried to establish another new kingdom at eitherBiawak Busuk orKota Buruk, but found the locations unsuitable.[11][13]
Parameswara continue his journey to the north, where he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (nowSungai Ujong) before arriving at a Malay fishing village at the mouth of Bertam River (nowMalacca River). He decided to stop there to rest. While he was resting under a tree, he saw his follower's hunting dogs fighting with a small mouse deer before they were kicked into a river by the deer.[6] Amused by this, he thought the place he rested must be an unusual place; following this event, in 1396 he announced the place would be calledMalaka.[14] Soon, the site became the centre of theMalay world in the 15th and 16th centuries and the most prosperousentrepôt in the Malay Archipelago.[15] In 1403, the first official Chinese trade envoy led by Admiral Yin Qing arrived in Malacca. Later, Parameśwara was escorted byZheng He and other envoys in his successful visits. Malacca's relationships withMing granted protection to Malacca against attacks fromSiam andMajapahit and Malacca officially submitted as aprotectorate ofMing China. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major trade settlement on the trade route between China andIndia,Middle East,Africa andEurope.[16] To prevent the Malaccan empire from falling to the Siamese and Majapahit, he forged a relationship with theMing dynasty of China for protection.[12][17] Following the establishment of this relationship, the prosperity of the Malacca entrepôt was then recorded by the first Chinese visitor,Ma Huan, who travelled together with AdmiralZheng He.[15][18] On his descriptions, he wrote;
TheZheng He monument today (seen from the backside), marking his stopover at the city[18]
Malacca was a well-established city surrounded by apalisade with four gates and watch towers. Inside the walled towers was a second fortification, a kind ofcitadel, within whose confines were the merchants' godowns, the treasury and food storehouses. TheMalacca River divided the city into two almost equal halves, the southern half being the inner citadel and the ruler's compound and the northern half, reached by a bridge some distance from the river mouth, containing the residents of many foreign merchants. The bridge and its approaches comprised the main venue for all commercial kinds. Constructed on the bridge was about a score of market stalls: an easy location for small watercraft to reach with their loads of produce and also close to the docks where foreign sea-going vessels unloaded goods for transhipment.[15]
In Malacca during the early 15th century,Ming China actively sought to develop a commercial hub and a base of operation fortreasure voyages into the Indian Ocean.[19] Malacca had been a relatively insignificant region, not even qualifying as a polity prior to the voyages according to bothMa Huan andFei Xin, and was a vassal region ofSiam.[19] In 1405, the Ming court dispatched AdmiralZheng He with a stone tablet enfeoffing the Western Mountain of Malacca as well as an imperial order elevating the status of the port to a country.[19] The Chinese also established a government depot (官廠) as a fortified cantonment for their soldiers.[19] Ma Huan reported that Siam did not dare to invade Malacca thereafter.[19] The rulers of Malacca, such as Parameswara in 1411, would pay tribute to the Chinese emperor in person.[19] Because of its strategic location, Malacca was an important stopping point forZheng He's fleet. To enhance relations,Hang Li Po, according to local folklore, a daughter of theMing Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry SultanManshur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married locals and settled mostly inBukit Cina.[20] Due to Chinese involvement, Malacca had grown as key alternative to other important and established ports.[19]
Due to the large influence of Arab, Persian, and Indian traders,Malacca soon turned into anIslamic sultanate, and Parameswara converted to Islam when he married a princess fromPasai, changing his name to Sultan Iskandar Shah.[17] With the rise of Melaka as an empire, both the Majapahit and Siamese kingdoms were unable to conquer it, especially with the Chinese protection. During this time, a Hindu–Malay and Tamil–Malay society were also formed. The Sultan died in 1414 and was succeeded by his son,Megat Iskandar Shah.[21] Malacca continued to prosper until the eighth Sultanate of Malacca,Mahmud Shah, with the various races who came to trade becoming associated with particular trade specialties; the Gujaratis, Tamils, and Bengalis were mostlycloth merchants, the Arabs and Persians waited for their vessels to be filled with goods from China, the Chinese dealt mainly in silk,camphor, andporcelain, and the natives of Malay Archipelago, like theBugis and other island peoples, traded mainly in spices andsandalwood, and theMinangkabau inpepper and gold, with the Javanese controlling the rice and imported foodstuffs.[15] Like other traders, the Chinese established their own area in the city, occupying the southeast side of the port around a hill calledBukit Cina, where they constructed temples and a well calledHang Li Poh's Well, named afterHang Li Po, the fifth wife of the sixth Sultan of Malacca,Mansur Shah, who was a Chinese princess from the Ming dynasty.[15][18]
Due to its riches, the news of the success of Malacca reached the Portuguese, who had an establishedpresence on Indian ports.[22] The Portuguese, under KingManuel I, sent a representative namedDiogo Lopes de Sequeira to establish contact with the Sultanate. At first, Sequeira was well received by SultanMahmud Shah. But the Tamil Muslim community, who already had an established presence in Malacca, convinced the Sultan to eliminate the Portuguese based ontheir treatment of the Muslims ofGoa.[23] Reacting to the report, Sultan Mahmud then ordered several men from the Portuguese delegation to be captured and killed, but some of them managed to escape with their ships.[23] Thus, in April 1511Afonso de Albuquerque, who was thePortuguese expedition leader together with hisarmada, arrived in Malacca to sever its Islamic andVenetian trade.[22][24] His intention was described in his own words when he arrived to Malacca:
If they were only to take "Malaca" out of the hands of theMoors,Cairo andMecca would be entirely ruined, andVenice would then be able to obtain no spiceries except what her merchants might buy in Portugal.
— Report onAlbuquerque's words on his arriving to Malacca.[24]
The Portuguese launched their first attack on 25 July 1511, but this was met with failure. Albuquerque then launched another attack on 15 August 1511, which proved successful asMalacca was captured on that day.[24] The Portuguese constructed a fortress calledA Famosa using rocks and stones taken from Muslim graves, mosques, and other buildings. Several churches and convents, a bishop's palace, and administrative buildings such as the governor's palace were built. The Portuguese imposed higher taxes on Chinese traders and restricted their ownership of land.[22] The news of the city's capture reached the Ming dynasty of China; the Chinese were also displeased about the kidnapping of many Chinese children by the Portuguese inTuen Mun.[25] In retaliation for Portugal's activity in Malacca, several Portuguese were later killed by the Chinese in the battles ofTunmen andXicaowan in China.[25]
By the mid-16th century, the two sultanates ofAceh andJohor had arisen to take control of Malacca from the Portuguese which then became the centre of struggle between the three.[14] By 1564, Aceh had retakenAru (a territory which Sumatra had previously lost to Johor) and destroyed Johor's capital,Johor Lama, with the Johor royal family taken to Aceh to rule Johor as avassal state. Other attacks were carried out in 1570, 1613, and 1623, when Johor tried to break away from Aceh.[26] Aceh's ambition for domination later led to a clash with the Portuguese in Malacca. The two sultanates and the Portuguese became involved in a triangular war, but when both the Portuguese and the Johor saw Aceh as a threat due to its constant attacks against them, the two began to collaborate to fight Aceh.[27] In 1582 the Portuguese assisted Johor to thwart an attack by Aceh, but the arrangement ended when Johor attacked the Portuguese in 1587. Aceh continued its attacks against the Portuguese, and was later destroyed when a large additional armada from the Portuguese port of Goa came to defend Malacca and destroy the sultanate.[26]
After Aceh was left weakened, theDutch East India Company (VOC) arrived, and Johor formed a treaty with them to flush out the Portuguese inthe second capture of Malacca. The Dutch succeeded atovertaking Malacca while Johor managed to re-establish its suzerainty over many of its former dependencies in Sumatra, such as Siak (1662) and Indragiri (1669). The Dutch expanded the size of the city fort and built a significant amount of additional infrastructure. As they had less interest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra than they had inJava and theMaluku Islands,[26] the Dutch remained neutral in local disputes until 1756 when the Bugis, who ruled theRiau-Lingga Sultanate, began to threaten Dutch maritime trade. The threats increased in the 18th century, whenEnglish rivalry started to establish its presence over areas in the northern Malay Peninsula.[28] This led the Dutch to seize the Bugis areas ofRiau and expel the Bugis from both Riau andSelangor, for fearing that these areas would otherwise have fallen under British rule. Malacca was placed under the direct control ofBatavia in Java.[10]
From 1796 until 1801, and 1807 to 1818 Malacca was temporarily placed under a BritishResident as the Netherlands wereconquered by France in theNapoleonic Wars. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818. Malacca served as the staging area for the Britishvictory in 1811.[29] Atreaty was later signed in 1824 between the British and Dutch to prevent further British influence in Java; one result was that the Johor-Riau Empire fell under two colonial powers along with Malacca, which was then officially handed to the British in 1825 and integrated as part of theStraits Settlements.[26] The city came under direct control of a Resident in Penang, and the old fort in the city was then dismantled.[28] The British established regulations for infrastructure with the construction of, for example, back alleys, chimneys, back yards, fire escapes, fire alleys, and pedestrian arcades.[30]
Department of Museums Malaysia, Malacca CityPre-independence Map of Malacca Town from "Road Map of Malaya" issued by Shell in 1951, detailing its road and place names.
During the first stage ofWorld War II, the city's residents continued to live normally until the news of theSinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse on 10 December 1941 reached the city and struck panic.[31] British colonial officials began to flee and thousands of the city's residents hid in rubber estates and jungles since they heard about the acts of cruelty committed in other parts of Malaya following their conquest by the Japanese.[31] TheJapanese Army arrived in the city on 14 January 1942 in aconvoy of bicycles,[31][32] but as they mainly focused on ensuring the retreat of the British to the south of the Malay Peninsula andSingapore, there was no major battle in the city or other parts of Malacca.[32] Duringtheir occupation, akempeitai headquarters was established in the formerly British "Government Rest House" which served as a place for arrests, torture and executions. Those who still lived in the city were given lowrice rations with atapioca supplement and a number of them weretaken to Thailand and forced to construct theBurma–Siam Railway.[33]
When theAllies began to counter-attack against the Japanese, the Japanese officially surrendered to the Allies in August 1945 with the city left undamaged as there were no heavy battles, and it was administered as part of theBritish Military Administration until the formation of theMalayan Union and then theFederation of Malaya. After Malaya achievedits independence on 31 August 1957, a colonial building named "Malacca Club" was built by the British in the city as the social centre forBritons inBritish Malaya. The building was then turned intoa memorial after 38 years to commemorate the Malayan independence day.[34] After the Federation of Malaya, together withNorth Borneo,Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963,[35] Malacca Town was extensively developed, although many of the historical architectures inherited from its colonial days remain untouched. On 15 April 1989, Malacca Town was bestowed the "Historical City" title and on the same date in 2003 it was grantedcity status.[36] On 7 July 2008, Malacca City was listed as one of the historical cities in Malaysia, together withGeorge Town in the northern Malay Peninsula.[4]
The city is administered by theMalacca City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah, MBMB). Formerly known as Malacca Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah, MPMBB), it was merged with the "Malacca Municipality Area" on 1 January 1977 with a new combined area of 297.19 square kilometres (114.75 mi2).[2] Then on 15 April 2003, MPMBB was upgraded into MBMB before part of its area, covering 57.66 kilometres separated forHang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council (MPHTJ). MBMB area is currently at 270 sq kilometres as a result ofland reclamation carried out since 1974, with a new administration area of 30.86 sq kilometres.[37][38] Together these areas comprise ametropolitan area of 307.86 sq kilometres.[2][39]
Panorama view of Central Business District or Downtown (Malay:Bandar Hilir) andStrait of Malacca
Malacca City is the centre of political and economic administration for the state of Malacca. There is one member of parliament (MP) representing oneparliamentary constituency in the city: Kota Melaka (P.138). The city also elects five representatives to thestate legislature from the state assembly districts of Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Duyong, Bandar Hilir and Telok Mas.[40]
Part of the city centre,Malacca Island can be seen in a strip of land directly across the coast. (up) andMalacca River, Malacca City. (down)
The city is located on both sides of theMalacca River near its mouth on theStraits of Malacca. The city is approximately 152 kilometres[41] from Malaysia's capital city,Kuala Lumpur.[42] Due to large-scaleland reclamation, it has grown in size, especially in the south.[43] Its physical features are characterised by flat and gently undulating land stretching from its coast.[44]
The historic central area of the city is located near the old coastline; it includes St Paul's Hill with the ruins of thePortuguese fortress and the Dutch Square on the right (eastern) bank of the river, and the old Chinatown on the left (western) bank. The Chinese Hill (Bukit Cina), where a large old Chinese cemetery is located, was formerly located to the northeast of the city, but is now surrounded by new buildings on all sides.
Malacca's weather is hot and humid throughout the year with rainfall, the intensity of which depends on the time of the year. It is one of the driest cities in Malaysia, receiving just under 2,000 mm (79 in) of rainfall while most areas in Peninsular Malaysia receive an average of around 2,500 mm (98 in) of rainfall annually.[45] However, Malacca has no dry season as average rainfall is more than 100 mm (3.9 in) for each month. Malacca is classified as having atropical rainforest climate (Af) under theKöppen climate classification system,[46] more subject to theIntertropical Convergence Zone than thetrade winds and with nocyclones so a pure equatorial climate. The relatively stable weather allows Malacca to be visited year-round.
Climate data for Malacca (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1930–2020)
The Malaysian census in 2010 reported the population of Malacca City was 484,885.[50]Malays comprised the majority with 273,844, followed byChinese with 158,828,Indian with 20,310 and others totalling 9,732.[50] Around 22,171 were identified as Non-Malaysian citizens.[50] Due to a large amount ofinterracial marriage since the era of the Malacca Sultanate, the city features its own ethnic mixtures ofBaba Nyonya,Chitty[33] andKristang peoples. The Majority of the Malays were Muslims, and the Chinese and Peranakan were eitherBuddhists,Confucianists,Taoists or followers from other denominations ofChinese folk religion. The Indians, including the Chitty, were mainlyHindus while the Kristang were mostly Christian.
TheBaba Nyonya are Straits-born Chinese, who have resided for generations since the era of the Malacca Sultanate as traders and intermarried with the local Malay women. They adopted thelocal culture and theMalay language as part of their lives while at the same time preserving some of their Chinese heritage and religious traditions.[51] The Chitty are also a mixture of Indian traders with local women of various ethnic backgrounds such as Malays,Javanese,Bataks and Chinese.[52] The Kristang exist as a result of marriage between theEuropean Portuguese men with Malay women and/or Chinese and Indian women during the era of Portuguese Malacca.[53]
The main languages spoken in the city areMalay,Hokkien and English, although theBaba Nyonya andChitty have their own variations of Baba and Chitties creoles respectively.[51][52] The Malaccan Portuguese have their own version of Portuguese creole, known asKristang language.[53]
Malacca CityCentral Business District or Downtown (Malay:Bandar Hilir), an economic corridor that contains much of its financial and services sectors.
Since the era of Malacca Sultanate, the city has prospered as a successfulentrepôt, putting it in the same position asVenice,Cairo andCanton.[54] When the European conquest begin, Malacca had developed into acosmopolitan city with a long-standing European heritage.[30] The arrival of Chinese traders andcoolie during the sultanate era and European colonisation saw a large boost to the economy, especially during the administration of Dutch and the British.[55] In modern times, the tourism is more dominant than theprimary-based industry due to its historical riches with the melting pots of cultural influences which attracted many local and foreign tourists to visiting the city,[44] which also became part of the state economy income.[56] In addition to its strategic location in themaritime Silk Road, the city benefited from the rise of China andIndia as world economic powers.[57][58] Malacca City has hosted numerous national, regional and international conferences, congresses and trade fairs at theMelaka International Trade Centre (MITC) inAyer Keroh.[59] In early 2016, the Malacca state government has start to develop a new economic development area in the central city centre which will be known as the Hang Tuah Trade Centre that will encompassing trade centres, higher education, hospitality and business.[60]
Internal roads linking different parts on the city are mostlyfederal roads constructed and maintained by theMalaysian Public Works Department. The city is accessible through theNorth–South Expressway and the coastalSyed Abdullah Aziz Road. There is also an old trunk road system, which once served as a main passageway to the city until the mid-1980s, when the North–South Expressway was built.[61] In the old city centre,trishaw services are available through the Stadhuis Red Square.[62] Started on 19 August 2023, closure of few roads in the city at 6pm–12am on Saturdays.[63]
There was previously a proposal by the state government of Malacca to revive a bridge project namedMalacca Strait Bridge that will connect land transportation in the city with the Indonesian city ofDumai onSumatra island.[64]
Melaka Sentral, the main public transportation terminal, serving bus and taxi services in and around the city
Melaka Sentral is the main bus and taxi terminal for the city, with services in and around the city as well as domestic services.[65] Mosttaxis in the city are executive taxis with either four, six or fourteen seats; but only two types of taxis, thelimousine (4 seats) andbas persiaran (14 seats), provide services to Singapore with the rest providing services only to other parts of Peninsular Malaysia.[66]
There were railway tracks fromPulau Sebang to Malacca City before World War II, but these were dismantled by the Japanese for the construction of theBurmeseDeath Railway.[67] On 10 October 2015, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) commuter service has introduced a new route, shuttle service between Seremban-Sebang/Tampin-Gemas station.[68][69]
A 1.6-km line ofMalacca Monorail was launched in October 2010, served the route along theMalacca River. Due to several technical glitches months into its operation, the system was left idle in 2013. However, in June 2015 the Malacca State Government decided to revive the project.[70] On 4 December 2017, Malacca Monorail has re-operate with enhanced safety features such as lightning-prevention devices and the addition of a rescue vehicle to attract wagons in the event of a technical problem.[71][72] The previous incident is believed will not recur as tests had been performed for two months before re-operation. The Malacca Monorail operating hours are 10.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekdays and will be continued until 12.00 midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.[73]
A tram system powered bycompressed natural gas was due to open in 2012,[74] but the news about the project appears to have dried up. A new plan with a different route was proposed in 2023.[75][76]
Ship anchoring at theStraits of Malacca, offshore from modern shopoffices constructed on reclaimed land.
The main water transportation in the city is the Malacca River Cruise with evening cruises along theMalacca River. The cruise route is an area marking the border between historicChinatown and Malay area.[62] TheMelaka Gateway is a project under construction involving the development of one natural and twoman-made islands off the coast of Malacca which will feature an international cruise terminal and aid water transport in the city.[77] An international shipping port is also planned to be built as part of China's Maritime Silk Route economic belt.[78]
Thecity high court complex is located along Tun Abdul Razak Road,[79] while anothercourt forSharia law is located on Old Ayer Keroh Road.[80] The Malacca Police Contingent Headquarters is also located on Old Ayer Keroh Road.[81] The main district police headquarters is located inCentral Malacca. There are around thirteen police stations and eight police substations (Pondok Polis) serving the city.[82] The main prison is located along the Ayer Keroh road, and was built in 1969.[83] Another three prisons are located in the districts of Central Malacca,Tanjung Kling,Telok Mas andSungai Udang.[84] The Bandar Hilir Prison has been transformed into a museum with all the inmates moved to Sungai Udang Prison.[85]
There is one public hospital and twelve governmenthealth clinics in and nearby the city.[86] There are also 52 private clinics[87] and three1Malaysia clinics in Malacca City.[88]Malacca General Hospital, which is located along Mufti Haji Khalil Road, is the main and oldest hospital in the state with 359 beds.[89][90] Oriental Melaka Straits Medical Centre is the largestprivate hospital with 300 beds.[91] Mahkota Medical Centre, located on Syed Abdul Aziz Road, is the second largest with 266 beds.[92]
Malacca State Library is the main library of the State of Malacca, located inBukit Baru town.[98] Other public library branches are located inTelok Mas town, Kampung Padang, Bertam Hulu andKlebang town.[99] There are also libraries available in the city's universities, schools and colleges.[100][101]
TheMalacca Sultanate Palace Museum, a replica of a classic Malacca Sultanate Palace, was built to represent theMalay culture and Malaccan history during the sultanate era. The building was constructed without using anynails. The city also includes a variety of other cultural attractions such asChinatown,Little India andPortuguese Settlement. The Chinatown feature a strong Chinese cultural influences, with Clan associations, regional Chinese eateries and prominent Chinese Temples likeCheng Hoon Teng located around the areas where many Chinese traders have settling since the era of Sultanate of Malacca. The most recognisable part of the Chinatown is theJonker Walk where many outdoor stage performances occur.[62] TheKopitiam and restaurants around the city serve mixed cultural influences of Malay and Baba Nyonya as well as various regional Chinese cuisines such as Teochew and European cuisines.[62] The No 8 Heeren Street Heritage Centre is an old two-storey shop house which has been undergoing restoration for years.[102] TheCheng Ho Cultural Museum is the site whereZheng He, a famous Muslim Chinese voyager, was believed to have set up a large warehouse complex along the northern side of the Malacca River,[103] while theStraits Chinese Jewellery Museum is a site where there has been a collection of Chinese jewellery design and motifs since the establishment of relations between Malacca and the Ming dynasty of China.[104] Little India is the site whereIndian culture is presented with a variety of Indian shops and restaurants as well as fabric shops selling varioussaris, Punjabi suits and other Indian fabric designs.[104] Located within the Portuguese settlement is a "Mini Lisbon" which has become the city's centre ofPortuguese culture, with many Eurasians descended from marriages between Portuguese men and local women that took place after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca residing there.[105] The state of the art Encore Melaka theatre, located at Taman Kota Syahbandar on newly reclaimed land, occasionally exhibits cultural and musical shows.[106][107]
A number of shopping malls and traditional art and craft shops are available around the city, with the most popular shopping malls beingDataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, The Shore,[62] and theÆON Bandaraya Melaka andJUSCO shopping centres.
The main cinemas in the city are theGolden Screen Cinemas (GSC), with one located inside the building of Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall with a capacity of 2,004,[112] while the second largest, in ÆON Bandaraya Melaka, has a capacity of 1,793.[113] Another cinema, known as theMBO Cinemas, with a capacity of 1,212 is located in the MBO Melaka Mall.[114]
Malacca first started twinning in 1984 with the city ofLisbon, Portugal and it is nowtwinned with or established as a friendship city with the following cities:[116][117]
^abc"Background" (in Malay and English). Historical Malacca City Council. 8 October 2015. Archived fromthe original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved12 October 2015.
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