Chinese Heritage Museum

Chinese Heritage Museum tells about the history of the Chinese community in Johor Bahru or people here might name as Iskandar Puteri. While Chinese came to settle in Johor Bahru, the cultures brought to Johor Bahru by these different people are far more ancient. This aspect of Johor Bahru history is the focus of the Chinese Museum. Museum’s collection includes documents, photos, old coins, porcelain, musical instruments and other artifacts.

Shortly, first Chinese came to this place in the 14th century: records of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties tell us about Chinese traders who came to Johor to conduct their business. At 1844, Temenggong Ibrahim encouraged Chinese planters to plant gambier and pepper in the interior of Johor. Later Chinese planters embarked on pineapple plantation. Surprisingly that Lee Pineapple Co Ltd, delicious pineapple juice maker, start their business in those days.

The interesting fact is that Chinese moved to Johor from different places. There are five dialect groups settled in Johor Bahru which are Hainanese, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Teochew.

Chinese Heritage Museum Photos

Museum building occupies four storeys. Documents on the ground floor introduce the chronology of historical events. The second and third-floor artifacts show the history of Chinese immigrants in Johor in the 1800s and 1900s. The top floor of the 4 storey museum devotes it’s exhibiting space for the temporary exhibitions.