April 2017
East Sumatra
Bangka is an island east of Sumatra and is the 9th largest island in Indonesia. Records show that Bangka, close to the busy Strait of Malacca and waters of the Musi River, had significant presence of Chinese traders. Around 1710 tin was discovered on the island, which attracted migrants from across the archipelago and beyond. The island became an important production center of tin in Asia. Descendants of the Chinese immigrants, mainly from Guangdong, still form a large portion of modern Bangka’s inhabitants.
The island has some spectacular white sand beaches, but suffers considerable environmental damage from its thriving tin mining industry, which operates on- and offshore.
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