Tanjung pinang - province of Riau Islands

Tanjungpinang is the capital and largest town of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. The city with 150,000 residents and is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago. Tanjung Pinang is located on Bintan island and it has ferry and speedboat connections to Batam, Singapore (40km away), and Johor Bahru and is an international entry/exit point.

History

Bintan was a political center for over 500 years ago, when the Portuguese won the battle of Malacca and the Sultan Mahmud of Malacca fled to Bintan and created a resistance against the Portuguese very hostile expansion.

Later Bintan was the capital of the Johor Sultanate, in southern Malaysia. Tanjung Pinang has always played a leading role in Malay culture. Bintan became a powerful trading port, attracting regional, Western, Indian and Chinese traders as well as migrants including Chinese much in the same way Malacca had developed into a regional power three centuries earlier.

The Indonesian national hero Raja Haji died during the battle of Malacca against the Dutch in 1784. He was a famous Malayan king and had his palace (istana) on the island Penyenget off Tanjung Pinang.