Semarang, the City of Admiral Zhenghe

Flying to Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia tonight, for the annual Admiral Zhenghe (Cheng Ho) Festival. The great Ming admiral passed through here 600 years ago and his impact is continued to be commemorated by the local Chinese who called this city Sang-Bao-Yan, meaning, The City of Sampo, Sampo being the official title of the Admiral.

 

Here's part of the Wikipedia entry on Semarang:

 

Semarang is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the capital of the province of Central Java. It has an area of 373.67 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million people, making it the Indonesia's fifth largest city. Semarang is located at 6°58′S, 110°25′E. A major port during the Dutch colonial era, and still an important port today, the city is known in Indonesia for its large ethnically Chinese population. The name of the city, Semarang, may have originated from the concatenation of the words "asem" (tamarind) and "arang" (rare). Another version is that Semarang is originated from Chinese word Sam Po Lang (San Bao Loong), meaning "the city of Sam Po" (Admiral Zheng He).

 

 

 

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