River of Life & Colonial Walk

Date of visit: 23 May 2023 | Last updated: 14 June 2024

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River of Life Project

Starting in the highlands of Selangor, the Klang River wends its way down to the Strait of Malacca, stretching 110 km and fed by eight major tributaries. One of these is the Gombak River, and where the two rivers meet is Kuala Lumpur's birthplace.

The Klang has a storied past - see my post "Kuala Lumpur: The village by two rivers" - but it's one sullied by decades of neglect, as roads and railways took over, and as KL's population and industries grew. The water became too polluted for drinking - or even bodily contact - and flash floods became more frequent, the probable result of littering and siltation.  

The River of Life Project was launched in 2011 to rejuvenate nearly 11 km of riverfront, at a cost of RM3.36 bn (£562.6 mn). Due to complete in 2024, it involves:

• Cleaning up the river and restoring its ecology
• Improving riverside infrastructure and accessibility
• Supporting recreational activities along the river banks
• Developing land along the river corridors
• Creating heritage trails to reinforce the historic and cultural identity of the area

The best place to experience the River of Life site is at Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque). In 2018, UK newspaper The Independent listed this historic area as one of the world's 10 best waterfront districts. 

View of the River of Life site from Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque)

There are several placards at the mosque describing and mapping the project. Here's a photo I took of one of them, to show what's included in the project. The Gombak, on the left, feeds into the Klang, on the right, meeting at Jamek Mosque. The circle indicates central KL. 

River of Life site

When I visited, the water and river banks looked clean and made for a enjoyable stroll. But not everyone has been impressed, with detractors pointing to poor project planning, conflicts between development goals and heritage preservation, and concerns about water quality. 

Colonial Walk

The Colonial Walk is one of the heritage trails promoted by the River of Life Project. I stumbled upon it  while visiting Jamek Mosque with my sister and her friend, who were over from Vancouver. We loved it - it was easy to follow, the riverfront and buildings were spectacular, and we learned so much about the city's colonial history and architecture. 

A note on the heritage trails

There were a good number of trails mentioned on the placards near the mosque, and it was a little confusing because they all had different lists of trails, with some variations in trail names:

• One placard highlighted these trails: Cultural Walk, Chinatown Walk, Colonial Walk, Masjid India Walk and Perjalan Diteruskan Melalui Stesen Walk. 
• Another mentioned these: Cultural Heritage Walk, Colonial Walk and Chinatown Walk.
• And a third pointed to the Dataran Merdeka KULQR Trail.

I did some research afterwards, and concluded that:

• The Colonial Walk appears to be the same as the Cultural Walk and the Cultural Heritage Walk.
• The Dataran Merdeka KULQR Trail includes many of the same sites as the Colonial Walk but highlights more attractions within some of those sites, and also adds five new sites.
• There's nothing online about the Masjid India Walk nor the Perjalan Diteruskan Melalui Stesen Walk. You could note the colour-coded routes on the relevant placard - or contact a tour guide and book a private walk. 
• You could do the same for the Chinatown Walk, but you might also want to check out Free Walks Kuala Lumpur Unscripted. It's run by licensed tour guides and hosts a free 'Chinatown Cultural Walk' twice a week. They also do an 'East West Connection Walk' through the colonial quarter, which is probably quite similar to the Colonial Walk.

This post covers the Colonial Walk plus the extra in-site attractions and some of the new sites from the Dataran Merdeka KULQR Trail that I felt were in keeping with the theme of heritage buildings and colonial times (this map shows what I included):

1. Guiding Gallery
2. Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque) - including Kolam Biru (Blue Pool) from the KULQR Trail
3. Mahkamah Tinggi Lama (Old High Court)
4. Panggung Bandaraya (City Theatre)
5. Jam Detik (Countdown Clock)
6. Gereja St. Mary (St. Mary's Cathedral)
7. Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) - including:
• Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad (Sultan Abdul Samad Building)
• Pejabat Lama Pos Malaysia (Old Post Office)
• Kelab DiRaja Selangor (Royal Selangor Club)
• Union Jack Flagpole - from the KULQR Trail
• Dataran Merdeka Flagpole - from the KULQR Trail
• 'Victorian Fountain' - from the KULQR Trail
• Zero Mile Kuala Lumpur - from the KULQR Trail
8. Muzium Tekstil Negara (National Textile Museum)
9. Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
10. Perpustakaan Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur Library)
11. Rumah Tangsi - including the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau, both from the KULQR Trail

You might want to time the walk so that you finish seeing everything shortly before sunset, which is around 7:30 pm. This would allow you to see the mosque again at night, when the area is lit up, as well as the illuminated water feature around the Countdown Clock.

1. Guiding Gallery

KL in the old days was a town divided - literally and figuratively - by the Klang River. 

The Chinese, Malay and Indian settlements were on the east bank, along with the main market and the access tracks to the tin mines upon which KL was founded. The colonial administration was on the west bank, where the British decamped after moving their state headquarters to KL in 1880.

There were only felled tree trunks connecting the two halves of the town, until a proper bridge replaced them a few years later. It's here - on Leboh Pasar Besar (Market Street) - that the walk starts, with a 'Guiding Gallery' where you can learn about the history of KL and the River of Life Project. 

KL's history felt a little more real to me when I read that the mines were located in places like Ampang and Pudu - places I know only as train stations and foodie destinations! 

I loved the street art by the bridge too.

I didn't know at the time that the main market area still exists today. It's not part of the Colonial Walk, but is just two minutes away. Called Medan Pasar (Old Market Square), it's now home to a famous Clock Tower and stylish Art Deco shophouses - check out this 360° view.

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2. Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque)

Jamek Mosque is the oldest mosque in KL, opened in 1909. It was also the main mosque in KL until Masjid Negara (National Mosque) was built in 1965. 

In 2017, Jamek Mosque was renamed Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, after the fourth Sultan of Selangor - who certainly had an interesting reign, covering the founding of KL, the Selangor Civil War and the beginning of indirect British rule in the Malay states.

Government architect Arthus B. Hubback designed the mosque, in the revivalist Indo-Saracenic style he favoured. It was mainly used in colonial India, combining western architecture and Mughal design - the Indian-Islamic style used for buildings like the Taj Mahal - with features like onion domes, pointed arches, colonnades, courtyards and intricate carvings. 

Hubback designed a good many beautiful buildings in KL and Malaya during his 19 years here, but apparently Jamek Mosque is his most renowned work.

The mosque is nestled in the triangle of land between the Gombak and Klang Rivers. The back of it overlooks the birthplace of KL, where the rivers meet, and offers beautiful views of the cleaned-up riverfront, courtesy of the River of Life Project.

It's worth seeing the mosque at night, when its central dome - called the "guiding light" - is lit up. This is also the time to see Kolam Biru (Blue Pool), an attraction that's part of the River of Life Project, featuring a dancing fountain and fog and lighting effects. 

Visiting Jamek Mosque:

• Nearest train station: LRT Masjid Jamek
• Admission: free; you just need to register at the entrance
• Opening hours: 8.00 am–12.30 pm and 2.30 pm–4.30 pm daily
• Dress: men are not allowed to wear shorts and women must cover their head, arms and knees. You can borrow hooded robes at the entrance. You must remove your shoes if entering the mosque.
• You can request a free, short guided tour when you arrive, and also learn about the history of the mosque in the Gallery Room.

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3. Mahkamah Tinggi Lama (Old High Court)

The Old High Court is a gorgeous building that dates to 1915. Heritage Buildings of Malaysia has a very informative article about the architecture, layout and construction of this historic structure, designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by Arthur B. Hubback.

The building used to house the Supreme Court (which later morphed into a three-tier set of superior courts). You might wonder, then, why it's called the 'Old High Court'. I can only guess it's because back then, the Supreme Court consisted of a High Court and a Court of Appeal. 

I don't think you can go inside, but I'm not sure what the building is currently used for. I've read that it's vacant. I've also read that it's occupied by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (perhaps partially, but the department is headquartered in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital). And I've read that it now houses the Sessions Court and the Magistrate Court (it doesn't; that's at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex).

From the Old High Court, there's a great view across the Gombak River of the back of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building - the majestic former offices of the British colonial administration. If you're short on time, you could head straight over there using the Masjid Jamek Pedestrian Bridge.

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4. Panggung Bandaraya (City Theatre)

Opened in 1904, Panggung Bandaraya is the oldest theatre in KL.

The building used to house KL's Municipal Office & Town Hall. The original theatre was part of the Town Hall, which was a venue for dancing and entertainment. The Municipal Office, meanwhile, was the first official administration offices for the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, which included heads of all the state departments.

The beautiful Indo-Saracenic architecture is yet another of Arthur B. Hubback's designs. In 1992, a major fire damaged the interior, which required extensive renovation.

Visiting City Theatre:

• Nearest train station: LRT Masjid Jamek
• Opening hours: 10.00 am–8.30 pm on show days
• Contact: +603 2602 3335 (if you want to go inside, it might be best to call before visiting, as the website doesn't offer any information about shows or visiting at other times)

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5. Jam Detik (Countdown Clock)

A minute away from the theatre is the Countdown Clock (called the 'Water Curtain' on Google Maps). 

According to Lonely Planet, it's part of the River of Life Project - an illuminated waterfall with a clock that counted down to 2020, the target date Malaysia set itself in the 1980s to become a modernised, affluent nation. I was surprised to find just a few paragraphs of official information about the site, from which I learned that it is still operating, and also provides an interactive experience for visitors. 

To see the lights, it would be best to visit after sunset. We missed this site, but if you want to see what it looks like, there are a few YouTube videos online.

Waterfall curtain operating times: 

• 9.00 am–12.00 pm
• 2.00 pm–5.00 pm
• 7.00 pm–9.00 pm
• 9.30 pm–midnight

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6. Gereja St. Mary (St. Mary's Cathedral)

Imagine hiding some large stained-glass windows and not being to find them afterwards! That's what happened with the ones at St. Mary's Cathedral during the Japanese occupation in World War II.

St. Mary's is one of the oldest churches in KL, consecrated in 1895. It's the cathedral church for the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia (i.e. the central church for the diocese). It used to be located at the current headquarters of the Royal Malaysian Police, but the premises became too small.

The church was designed by British architect A.C. Norman in the early English Gothic style, featuring vaulted roofs, prominent buttresses and those stained-glass windows. 

Another thing to look out for is the pipe organ. It was made in 1895 by the famous English organ maker Henry Willis, who also made the organ for St Paul’s Cathedral in London and the original Grand Organ of the Royal Albert Hall, also in London.

Visiting St. Mary's Cathedral:

• Location, public transportion & parking facilities
• Visiting hours: as of June 2024, St. Mary's is still temporarily closed for tourist visits due to restoration works
• Tours: can be requested with one month's notice (not available Sundays, Mondays or public holidays)
• Services: there are regular services in various languages

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7. Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square)

For 60 years, Merdeka Square was the heart of the British colonial administration. There are a number of attractions here, dotted all around the square.

Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad (Sultan Abdul Samad Building)

On the east side of the square was the magnificent secretariat known simply as Government Offices. Completed in 1897, it replaced the original offices on a nearby hill. In 1974 the building was renamed after Sultan Abdul Samad, the fourth Sultan of Selangor. 

A. C. Norman, the original government architect, had visions of a quintessentially British building in the Classical Renaissance style - but only his ground plan was used, though his name is the only one on the foundation stone. It was his assistant R. A. J. Bidwell who reworked the design in the Indo-Saracenic style, with contributions from the ubiquitous Arthur B. Hubback. 

At the time, this was the largest building in Malaya (as the country was then known). It features red bricks with white plaster arches and banding - the so-called "blood and bandages" style - a clock tower reminiscent of Big Ben, standing 41 metres high, and three copper-clad onion domes.  

The grounds are lovely to stroll in, and there are placards with information about the site.

 

According to the River of Life website, the building once housed the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court of Malaya, three of the four superior courts of Malaysia (but I've also read that the Court of Appeal was next door at the old General Post Office). 

Today, some of the operations of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture are located here, and it isn't open to the public.

Pejabat Lama Pos Malaysia (Old Post Office)

You could be forgiven for thinking that the old General Post Office is part of Sultan Abdul Samad Building. We certainly thought so when we were there! They're next to each other and look very similar, Arthur B. Hubback having designed both.

Attribution: User:Two hundred percent, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The General Post Office did once live at Government Offices, when the latter was completed in 1897. But space became an issue, so it moved into a new building when that was ready in 1907. 

It's not the first time the post office had to move, according to a fascinating blog post about the early years of KL's postal services. Back around 1880 - the start of the British administration in KL - the post office "was reported to have led a wandering existence". It only acquired an official location in 1889 - two small huts next to KL's first railway station, near the Selangor Club.

Letters for KL arrived in these huts after a protracted journey. The Peninsular and Oriental (P&O) Steam Navigation Company ran two weekly mail services from Europe to Malaya - one directly to Penang and another to Rangoon, Burma, with mail sent on to Penang. From there, a mail steamer took KL-bound letters to Klang (the former capital of Selangor). As soon as postal workers sighted the steamer at Klang, they telegraphed the news to KL, whereupon the post office would hoist its flag to let everyone know that mail would soon arrive. The letters then travelled by train to KL, and once there, the flag came down to signal that the mail had finally arrived.

A few years later, the post office moved from the huts to a building on the south side of the square, before relocating to Government Offices and later the annexe. In 1984, the General Post Office moved to its final location down the road. Its former home seems to have housed the Court of Appeal at one point, but it's not clear who occupies the building today - probably the same government offices as at Sultan Abdul Samad Building.

Kelab DiRaja Selangor (Royal Selangor Club)

On the west side of the square was the Selangor Club - now called the Royal Selangor Club - which was founded in 1884 as a meeting place for prominent members of British colonial society.

It started as a little wooden building, but in 1890 a two-storey structure replaced it, designed by government architect A. C. Norman. 1910 saw it rebuilt yet again, this time using a mock Tudor design by Arthur B. Hubback. The club's completely British look set it apart from the other buildings in the square, and from Hubback's own work: he only designed three buildings in Malaya using the Tudor Revival style.

The big green field that is Merdeka Square was originally called Parade Ground, as that was where British military parades took place. It later became the club's cricket pitch, called Selangor Club Padang, or simply Padang (meaning 'field' in Malay). 

Some months later, I had a view of the field from inside the club, when the organiser of one of my hiking groups, who is a member, invited us to have lunch there.

Union Jack Flagpole & Dataran Merdeka Flagpole

At the stroke of midnight on 31 August 1957, Merdeka Square saw the lowering of the Union Jack and the raising of the Malayan flag for the first time. This was followed by seven chants of "Merdeka" by the crowd - which numbered some 10,000 people, standing ten deep, according to that day's edition of The Straits Times. 

The former Union Jack Flagpole stands in front of Sultan Abdul Samad Building. The Malaysian flagpole - Dataran Merdeka Flagpole - is at the southern end of the square, and is one of the tallest in the world, at 95 metres. The man who operated these flagpoles on that historic day in 1957 - navy veteran Oliver Cuthbert Samuel - passed away a month after I wrote this post.

The annual National Merdeka Day Parade is usually held at the square, with floats, dance troupes and marching squads from the police and armed forces. But some years it has been held in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital, as will be the case in 2023.

'Victorian Fountain'

Next to the Dataran Merdeka Flagpole is a big fountain commonly called Victorian Fountain or sometimes Queen Victoria Fountain. It's also commonly believed to commemorate Steve Harper, the popular former Chief Inspector of the Selangor Military Police (which is why it's sometimes called Cop's Fountain). And it's commonly said to have been built in 1904. 

None of this appears to be true.

A nearby placard only has one line about the fountain: "At the corner of the square stands a fountain that was built in 1897." The Malayan Historical Society decided to investigate the origins of this mysterious fountain in 1962, concluding that it had no connection to Steve Harper, but rather was built by the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, using materials imported from England.

Nameless though the fountain is, I suppose that calling it 'Victorian Fountain' would distinguish it from the other nameless (modern) fountain at the other end of the square!

Modern fountain at northern end of Merdeka Square

Zero Mile Kuala Lumpur

You may also be interested to know that on the sidewalk near the 'Victorian Fountain' is the Zero Mile Kuala Lumpur marker. As in other cities, it's the point from which distances are traditionally measured. 

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8. Muzium Tekstil Negara (National Textile Museum)

It doesn't take much to guess that the National Textile Museum building was designed by Arthur B. Hubback, with its striking similarity to the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. 

Completed in 1905, it originally housed the headquarters of the Federated Malay States Railways, which stayed there until 1917. After that, it served various purposes - including being the first headquarters of the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia - before opening as a museum in 2010. 

The National Textile Museum showcases textiles from pre-historic times to the present, from different communities around the country, focusing on traditional tools, materials and techniques of textile-making. It also has a collection of jewellery and personal adornments.

Visiting the National Textile Museum:

• Nearest train stations: LRT Masjid Jamek/MRT Pasar Seni
• Operating hours: 9.00 am–5.00 pm daily (except the first two days of Raya Aidil Fitri/Eid al-Fitr and the first day of Raya Aidil Adha/Eid al-Adha)
• Tel: +60 (0)3 2694 3457 / +60 (0)3 2694 3461
• Email: prmuziumtekstilnegara@gmail.com

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9. Kuala Lumpur City Gallery

Near the Dataran Merdeka Flagpole is a heritage building that now houses the KL City Gallery. It was once the Government Printing Office - most likely completed in 1899 - which replaced the original printing office from 1890 when that could no longer cope with the volume of print jobs.

The building was designed in the Jacobean style - but who did it is a bit of a mystery. According to one source (which has a fascinating account of the people involved), it was probably not A. C. Norman nor the illustrious Arthur B. Hubback, but a little-known architectural assistant called B. Ramakristna Row, who was originally from Singapore.

Attribution: Richie Chan - stock.adobe.com

The printing office was closed in 1961, after which the building served various purposes before its current incarnation as the KL City Gallery. This is a private gallery and tourist information centre, telling the story of KL through photographs, prints and miniatures. The centrepiece is a huge scale model of KL with more than 5,000 handmade structures, presented with a light-and-sound show.

Visiting Kuala Lumpur City Gallery:

• Nearest train station: LRT Masjid Jamek
• Opening hours: as of June 2024, the gallery is still temporarily closed, with no information as to when it will reopen. The website is also not operational.
• Contact: +603 2698 3333

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10. Perpustakaan Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur Library)

You'll often read that Kuala Lumpur Library was opened in 1989 as the city's first public library. 

1989! That didn't seem likely, but it was surprisingly hard to find out when the city's first public library was founded. I finally chanced upon a book from 1970 that put the date at 1955, with the establishment of the Malayan Public Library Association. 

Another thing: Kuala Lumpur Library was actually founded in 1975, according to its website. There's no information about what it was originally called or where it was located, but 1989 is when it was established as 'Kuala Lumpur Memorial Library' - and apparently situated where KL City Gallery now is.

One more thing: the library isn't called 'Kuala Lumpur City Library' as you'll often read. According to its website, it was renamed 'Kuala Lumpur Library', in 2000. 

In 2004 the library moved to its current location next door to the gallery. Today, there are 20 branches in the network.

Attribution: uskarp2 - stock.adobe.com

Visiting Kuala Lumpur City Library:

• Nearest train station: LRT Masjid Jamek
• Opening hours: 
• 10.00 am–6.45 pm Tue–Fri 
• 10.00 am–5.00 pm Sat & Sun (except the first week of every month) 
• Closed on public holidays

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11. Rumah Tangsi

Rumah Tangsi - often called Loke Chow Kit Mansion - is a few minutes' walk from the Royal Selangor Club. Unfortunately we didn't know about it at the time, as it's not part of the Colonial Walk.

Heritage Buildings of Malaysia has an informative article about the history and design of this beautiful, bright yellow mansion. Built in the style of an Italian villa, it was owned by mining tycoon and municipal councillor Loke Chow Kit, and known as Loke Hall. Heritage Buildings says construction began in 1907, but another source dates it to around 1903–1907.

Loke only lived here for about a year (maybe because he had another mansion in town). After that, the building changed ownership several times. In 1909 it became the Empire Hotel, which attracted many well-heeled travellers from Europe. In 1919 it became the Peninsular Hotel, a popular meeting place and lodging for colonial planters, tin miners and traders. 

The Malaysian Institute of Architects took over from 1973 until 2012, after which the building was bought by KL City Hall. Today it serves multiple purposes, hosting a toy library, an arts and culture event space and a lovely looking cafe - Fiftig Seofon, which is open from 10 am to 10 pm daily. (In case you're intrigued by the name, 'fiftig seofon' means '57' in old English and is a reference to 1957, the year of independence.) 

Next door to Rumah Tangsi is the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau, located in a building that was once an annexe to Loke Hall. The bureau is open from 8.30 am–5.30 pm from Monday to Friday.

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If you're wondering where to eat, you might want to try Leboh Ampang, which has a number of Indian restaurants (and shops). Don't call it 'Little India' though, as you might be directed to Brickfields! We had a tasty lunch at Saravanna Bhavan, an Indian vegetarian restaurant (post to come), which was only three minutes from Jamek Mosque. 

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