Meet the Indonesians saving Chinese heritage, one tomb at a time

via South China Morning Post, 08 August 2021: A Chinese-Indonesian duo’s quest to document Chinese tombstones in and around Semarang in Central Java.

Though different kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago had contact with China as far back as the 13th century, Chinese people did not begin to settle down until the early 15th century, when Chinese Muslim traders arrived and helped spread Islam. Later, when the archipelago came under Dutch power in the 17th century, more Chinese traders and workers migrated to what was then The Dutch East Indies. The oldest Chinese graves found in Indonesia to date are from the 17th century era.

For their first excursion, the pair investigated the hilltop burial ground of Bergota, Randusari Spaen, where several Chinese graves had been discovered but remained unidentifiable due to their dilapidated conditions. They were determined to document everything before it was lost to posterity.

Source: Meet the Indonesians saving Chinese heritage, one tomb at a time | South China Morning Post