Making Siniawan tourism attraction

KUCHING: Following the preservation of Siniawan Town as the first heritage town in Bau district, many efforts have been put in to make it a tourism attraction.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who is also the Minister of Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture, said the ministry was planning to rebuild the Brooke bungalow, which once stood in the town, and introduce horses as Brooke was said to ride horses in Siniawan.

Previously, he added, Siniawan Town was a quiet town because the people did not know that it had much heritage treasures to offer.

“When we preserve Siniawan as a heritage town, we will make sure that many visitors, not only from within the state but also foreigners, will come visit and witness the many cultural heritage there,” he said at the closing of Karnival Sarawakiana 2016 at the Pustaka Negeri here yesterday.

Aside from Siniawan, Buso Town which is also in Bau District will be the second heritage town in the district as it has its own heritage that needs to be preserved, he said.

Speaking on the event, Abang Johari said the rich culture and heritage in the state should be documented and compiled in a book to be a source of reference for the future generations.

“I feel that Pustaka Negeri is an important body in economic and socio-cultural development because this is where we find unique materials, and we can add value to it. If we don’t do it, we will lose our culture which is our identity.”

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Siniawan - Preserving our heritage

LAST month, some friends and I decided to play tourist in our own backyard and visit the night market at Siniawan.

Siniawan is a historic Chinese settlement on the old road to Bau whose transformation into a successful heritage conservation has been well documented.

What makes Siniawan’s restoration all the more notable is that it was led by the local community, spurred by a Kuching architect and the Sarawak Heritage Society.

Today, the two rows of wooden shophouses in the town have been renovated and preserved, maintaining their olden-day charm while serving a new purpose.

Every weekend, Siniawan plays host to a night market along the restored shophouses, with hawkers and stall operators selling all kinds of food while tables and chairs are set up in the street.

Colourful lanterns strung between the shops add to the festive air, while an open-air karaoke stage invites patrons to try out their singing abilities.

The night market has become a well-known attraction over the years.

My friends and I had read about it and seen plenty of photographs on Facebook and social media.

But we had never been there.

So one fine Saturday evening, we went to Siniawan to check it out for ourselves.

Our first surprise was that the drive took less than half an hour despite some heavy traffic along the way.

Shortly after 6.30pm we reached the town, where we were again surprised to find that the car park was already full and more vehicles were arriving.

Clearly the Siniawan night market is very popular among Kuching folk.

As it was still quite early, we decided to walk down the length of the street, taking photographs and admiring the restored facades of the shophouses and the pretty lanterns.

We were struck by how quaint and charming the place looked, including its spruced up riverbank as well as the crowds of people thronging the street.

We were definitely spoilt for choice when it came to dinner options.

There were stalls selling the usual array of street food like satay, noodles and oyster pancakes known locally as “o chien”, while others offered traditional delicacies, local kuih and fusion dishes.

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Fun-filled Siniawan Festival on the cards

BAU: Siniawan Festival 2016, a four-day event of food and music, cultural and various health activities, should be able to turn the once bustling Chinese village into a vibrant tourist destination.

The organising chairman Kapitan Liew Jiu Fung said the inaugural festival which would take place from Sept 15 to 18 at Siniawan old bazaar, would feature an array of activities that cater for all.

To kick start the event, a jungle trekking and cycling challenge would be held including a host of other sports activities such as futsal, sepak takraw, blowpipe demonstration, street and traditional games, and a state-level photography competition.

Those interested to visit historical sites in the area could participate in a programme to explore Rajah James Brooke Heritage Trail. Brooke’s first fort in Sarawak – Fort Berlidah – was in fact built near Siniawan. He also built a bungalow on the summit of Mount Serembu where prominent anthropologist Alfred Russel Wallace had stayed for over a year in 1854.

On Saturday, visitors would be treated to a ‘Western country and Cowboy night’ and live band performances of country western music including classic songs from the 60s to the 80s. The theme coincides with the single-street bazaar’s reminiscent of a typical American ‘Wild West’ cowboy town.

Liew hoped the festival would be successful in attracting a large crowd and make it to the state’s tourism calendar of activities for next year to create a domino affect that would spur economic growth for the local community.

“Before 2010, most people called Siniawan an ‘old people’s town’ because not much was happening economically and job opportunity was scarce. This led to the youngsters moving away to seek jobs elsewhere.

“The situation has since improved after the establishment of the popular Siniawan Night Market and we hope to further boost economic activities in the area,” he said before a briefing to representatives from various state and tourism agencies as well as local authorities here yesterday.

Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh, Bau District Officer Inting Nyami and Councillor Bong Ngim Swee were also present.

Liew went on to say the festival would also host the mid autumn festival (moon cake), calligraphy exhibition, Chinese chess competition, lantern-making demonstration, lion dance competition and the worshipping of ‘Yue Niang’ (Moon Goddess) and Ghost festival. There would also be a traditional Teochew Opera show and Mandarin ‘Yue Liang’ songs singing competition.

A Bidayuh section would also be set up at the festival with stalls selling handicraft and local delicacies, and Bidayuh cultural performances.

Liew said the committee was planning to turn Siniawan Festival into an annual event. He believed it would be easier to propose for the conservation of Siniawan Bazaar and other heritage sites in the vicinity.

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Promoting Siniawan Bazaar as tourist destination

SINIAWAN: The Siniawan Heritage Conservation Committee is taking an innovative approach in promoting Siniawan Bazaar as a tourist destination by getting children involved.

Some 30 local students, aged between 11 and 19, are being trained with the help of the Sarawak Heritage Society and Talent and Art Performing Group to become “little tourist guides” for their town.

Yesterday, the children stepped out from the classrooms and practised to be guides for the first time.

They were reacquainted with the old shop lots and the Swee Guk Kung Temple which they have grown up with.

Committee chief Bong Say Chiung said yesterday the idea to train local students to be tour guides was inspired by the successful example in Penang.

He said the younger generation were the future of an old community like Siniawan and they could play an important role to conserve the town.

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