Singkawang, West Kalimantan, South Borneo, Indonesia

🇮🇩 Singkawang or San Khew Jong in Hakka, is a city located in the province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. It is located at about 145 km north of Pontianak, the provincial capital, and is surrounded by the Pasi, Poteng, and Sakok mountains. Singkawang is derived from the Hakka Chinese, sân-khiéu-yòng which refers to "a town in hills nearby a sea and estuary". The city covers an area of 504 km².

Originally Singkawang was a village in that part of the Sultanate of Sambas, named as Singkawang Village (Kampong Singkawang) as a haven for traders and gold miners from Monterado. The miners and traders who came mostly from China, before they headed towards Monterado, first rested in Singkawang, while gold miners from Monterado often rested in Singkawang to remove their tiredness, while Singkawang also served as the transit point for the transportation of gold dust. At that time, they called Singkawang with the word Sakawokng (Salakko Dayak language), which means a very wide swampy swamp area located on the beach. Dayak Salako are part of the soldiers and intelligence of the Sultanate of Sambas which was given territorial territory in Binua Sarauntung Sakawokng.

Basically the Salako Dayak tribe has long inhabited the Sakawokng area before it became a bustling trading area. The Hakka Chinese who came from South China, who were mostly farmers, traders, and gold miners at that time entered the Sakawokng area through small rivers in the Sado (Sedau) area. At first, the Singkawang area was still a vast wilderness filled with swamps. Due to its geographical location, the Hakka Chinese immigrants named this area in Hakka as "San Khew Jong" (山口洋).

The city is divided into five administrative districts (kecamatan).

City of Tolerance Singkawang is also known as the City of tolerance. The city of Singkawang gets the title of the most tolerant city in Indonesia, because it is seen from a socio-cultural perspective. there is a uniqueness and togetherness of cultural diversity and the culture of the people who live and settle in Singkawang City, uphold the values of Pancasila and uphold the unity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Transport At present there is no airport at Singkawang, and served by Supadio International Airport. It is connected by road, can be reached by bus or taxi from Pontianak covering a distance of 150 kilometers. It is also connected by road to Kuching in Malaysia via the Aruk/Biawak border and Sambas.

Proposal to build an airport, and toll road from Pontianak is now under consideration. The construction of the airport is planned to begin in 2020 and the first phase of construction is targeted to be completed in 2022.