Chinese Heritage Museum
Kuching, Sarawak

Chinese History Museum

The Chinese Heritage Museum Kuching (also known as the Chinese History Museum) is a small museum focusing on the history of Chinese immigration into Borneo and the major role of their descendants in modern-day Sarawak.

The historic pink building housing the museum was originally the Chinese Court set up by Rajah Charles Brooke in 1912. The scales of justice can be seen above the main doors . The court handled civil and commercial cases where all the litigants involved were Chinese. The court was dissolved in 1921 and the building served as government offices and later as the Sarawak General Chamber of Commerce until it was converted to a museum in 1993.

a pair of ivory statues of Qing emperor and empress

Chinese have been coming to Sarawak for centuries but their numbers were boosted significantly in three waves of immigration from the early 19th Century onwards. According to the museum, the first wave of immigration involved mainly Hakkas who crossed over from what is now West Kalimantan, Indonesia into the Bau and Engkilili areas of Sarawak to carry out gold and antimony mining and later moved into agriculture and other businesses.

street map of downtown KuchingStreet map showing the various types of shops run by Chinese in downtown Kuching.

The second wave consisted of mainly Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese immigrants who arrived in Kuching Division to carry out trading activities, exporting local commodities to ports such as Singapore.

Rajah Charles Brooke encouraged a third wave of Chinese immigration from 1900 onwards to provide labourers to help exploit the State's vast resources.

a mini bus from the 1950sSome Henghuas moved into transportation related industry.

The museum provides information on the origins, characteristics and typical occupations of the various Chinese communities and dialect groups that make up the Chinese population of Sarawak such as the Hakkas, the Cantonese, the Chao Ann and the Henghuas.

Four prominent Chinese dignitaries

The profiles of some of Sarawak's most prominent Chinese dignitaries are displayed.

Review Verdict

There are not a lot of physical artefacts in the museum apart from a fine pair of ivory statues of a Qing Dynasty emperor and empress, a trio of porcelain deity statuettes and an old rickshaw (apparently there were once as many as 300 hundred rickshaws plying the streets of Kuching). Having said that, the information boards on display provide a lot of useful knowledge to help the visitor to Kuching to understand an important part of Sarawak's complicated mosaic of ethnicities. Worth spending half an hour or so.

three Chinese deity statues(L-R) Felicity, Dignity and Longevity

Opening Hours & Admission Charges

Open Daily

  • Mon - Friday 9am - 4.45pm
  • Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm

Ticket Prices

Entrance is free. Just sign your name in the guest book. Photography is permitted.

How To Get to the Chinese Heritage Museum Kuching

The museum is on the waterfront in the heart of Kuching near the Hilton Hotel.

The exact location is marked on this map:

Address:

Chinese History Museum, Jalan Bazar, 93100 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Nearby

  • Tua Pek Kong Temple
  • Jalan Main Bazaar
  • Carpenter Street
  • Sarawak River Cruise

See a full list and details of other Kuching attractions here.

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AUTHOR BIO

cartoon of author with an orangutan

David (the one on the left) is the writer behind Malaysia Traveller, sharing firsthand travel advice from over five decades of living and travelling across Asia and the Middle East. Based in Malaysia since 2009 and now in Kuching, he has published 700+ pages, personally visited every place he covers, and uses only his own photos. Readers can learn more on his About Me page. He also shares updates on Facebook and YouTube. He loves uncovering overlooked places even many Malaysians have never visited.