The Breath of Kapasan Chinatown Village in Surabaya

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Lanterns are installed in Kapasan Dalam Chinatown Village in Simokerto District, Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (18/2/2021).

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit almost all economic sectors, including tourism. However, with the philosophy of “soft cotton”, the residents of Chinese descent in Kapasan Dalam, Surabaya, East Java, refused to give up. They instead initiated the Chinatown Village Tourism program.

A banner with the words "Welcome to Kampung Pecinan Kapasan Surabaya Tour" stretched on the wall near the gate of Jalan Kapasan Dalam III, Kapasan, Simokerto, Surabaya, on Friday (19/2/2021), or a week after Chinese New Year celebrations .

Strands of red lanterns and colorful lights decorated the roads in Kapasan Dalam. All the houses of residents of Chinese descent known as peranakan residents in the old Chinatown village in Surabaya were also decorated with traditional lanterns and Chinese knick-knacks.

The walls of the house were decorated with various paintings such as pictures of dragons, the great walls of China, warlords or gods, landscapes, ancient gates, and Chinese architecture.

Going along the narrow alleys of Kapasan Dalam, motorcyclists have to push their vehicles. The walls of the house were decorated with various paintings such as pictures of dragons, the great walls of China, warlords or gods, landscapes, ancient gates, and Chinese architecture.

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Several houses were also turned into culinary stalls offering different kinds of dishes such as Nasi Campur Nyaa Bang Boklan , Restu Redjo, Cik De Kitchen, Cap Sedan Ground Coffee, Ming Bakpao / Mie, and Kungfu Shops.

Some dishes such as mixed rice sold out quickly. If you want to go there, come at six to eight in the morning. On weekends, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, Kapasan Dalam with 250 houses are always crowded.

Each visitor is charged Rp 5,000. With the admission fee, visitors can capture the moment in the village by taking selfies in front of a mural or historical building.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

A resident passes in front of the Wall of China mural in Kapasan Dalam Chinatown in Simokerto District, Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (18/2/2021).

The Kapasan Chinatown Village Tour (WKP) package has been offered by the locals for many years. They do not want their identity as peranakan or Chinese descent to disappear, including their unyielding character.

As in other parts of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of the people of Kapasan Dalam. However, their proven tenacity since before the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence allowed them to survive.

Hero of life

In conjunction with the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Surabaya, which is commemorated as Heroes Day on 10 Nov., 2020, Kapasan Dalam residents launched this year’s Kapasan WKP program. They wanted to be "heroes", at least for themselves, by not giving in to the pandemic.

"The Chinatown Village Tour was launched to save the economic life of the community," said the WKP deputy chairman, Michael Wijaya.

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The head of the Surabaya City Tourism Office ,Antiek Sugiharti said, the Kapasan tourism program was part of the program to reform the old city area of the Chinatowns which was launched in 2019. WKP Kapasan is expected to motivate other Chinatowns in Surabaya to make breakthroughs to cope with the pandemic.

In a number of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States, unique villages have become popular tourist spots.

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

One of the photo spots on the Chinatown Village Tour in Kapasan Dalam, Simokerto Surabaya in the context of Chinese New Year 2572, on Friday (12/2/2021).

The chairman of the Kapasan community unit, Djaja Soetjianto said, Kapasan Dalam was regularly visited by social observers and cultural-history researchers. Of a number of architectural heritages, the most famous is the Boen Bio Temple. The temple was founded in the village in 1883 before being moved to the edge of Jalan Kapasan in 1907.

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Apart from that, there is also an old building formerly used as the Satya Maitreya Medical Center. The building used to be one of the places where the residents practiced kung fu. In the colonial era, the building was a "base" for fighters and an arsenal of weapons / ammunition. It was from here the nickname "Crocodile Kapasan", which refers to martial arts heroes appeared.

Identity

A lecturer at Ciputra University and Chairman of the Surabaya Heritage Society, Freddy Istanto, said that most Chinatown areas in Surabaya are located on the east side of Kalimas, the Surabaya River Canal or the Brantas River. Long before it became a village, Surabaya\'s Chinatown area was used to be kapok randu (ceiba pentandra) forests. In the 16th or 17th century, forests were cleared for commercial uses.

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The existence of Chinatown was closely related to the social segregation policy in the colonial era. Since Pakubuwono II king handed over Surabaya to the colonial government, the area was divided into three regions based on ethnicity, namely European, Chinese, and Arab-Malay.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

A mural in Kapasan Dalam Chinatown in Simokerto Subdistrict, Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (18/2/2021).

Settlement segregation made it easier for the colonialists to exercise control. However, the policy also strengthened the social ties of the citizens. Residents strengthened their cultural identity in architecture, traditional arts, culinary, clothing, tools and equipment.

In Surabaya, Chinatowns also exist in Tambak Bayan, Kembang Jepun, and Karet in the old city area.

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).