Malang as a Flower City

May 18, 2010

Malang is known as a flower city. That “was” true. Nowadays, Malang is more known as educational city as there are many universities here. If you want to find flowers, then I recommend Batu. If you have already in Malang, you should visit Batu. There you will find many beautiful flower plantations.

Maybe because Batu –as a place where flowers in Malang come from- had been a part of Malang, while Malang is bigger than Batu, then Malang “was” called as a flower city. This is only my assumption then.

Now it depends to the Malang’s government and its citizen to reconstruct Malang, whether to let it to be a different kind of city, or go back to what the world has known about it, as a city of flower.

As other Indonesian city, Malang also has Aloon-aloon, or Alun-alun in Indonesian, as a place for people to gather and enjoy their time. Alun-alun Malang also serves that function. Do you know how the Malang’s Alun-alun becomes so popular for the Dutch? There is a book entitled “Het Zilveren Jubileum der Stadsgemeente Malang 1914-1939”, that there was a flower market in 1937 at the place that now known as the Alun-alun Malang?

How Malang is called as a Flower City?

Here is a more credible reason why Malang is called as a flower city. In 1947, Malang held a big congress, the KNIP congress. From the Societet Concordia, many Dutchmen were attracted by many beautiful flowers that were sold at the Malang’s Alun-alun. As you know, the Societet Concordia building (now becomes the Sarinah Plaza) is located at the northern of the Alun-alun.

Some of those Dutchmen wrote in a magazine that if people would like to see beautiful flowers, they had to come to Malang. Here is the reason why Malang is called as a flower city. So it has nothing to do with Jalan Ijen that now full with beautiful flowers.

If you visit Malang’s Alun-alun, you will still find the scenes that has been exist since the 40s, streets traders, beggars, and sometimes pickpockets.

This May 20 to 23, Malang will hold the Malang Tempo Doeloe Festival. This is a very special moment for Malang. If you don’t want to miss this great moment, then you should come and visit Malang.

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