Bukit China

Melaka City


More than 12,500 graves, including about 20 Muslim tombs, cover the 25 grassy hectares of serene 'Chinese Hill'. In the middle of the 15th century, the sultan of Melaka married the Ming emperor's daughter in a move to seal relations with China. She brought with her a vast retinue, including 500 handmaidens, who settled around Bukit China. It has been a Chinese area ever since.

Since the time of British rule, there have been several attempts to acquire Bukit China for road widening, land reclamation or development purposes. Fortunately, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, with strong community support, has thwarted these attempts.

At the base of the hill is Poh San Teng Temple. 'Precious Hill Temple' was built around 1795 and is dedicated to the guardian deity Tua Pek Kong. To the right of the temple is King's Well, a 15th-century well built by Sultan Mansur Shah.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Melaka City attractions

1. Poh San Teng Temple

0.34 MILES

If you're heading up to Bukit China to check out the old graves, it's hard to resist stepping inside this temple at the hill's base. 'Precious Hill Temple…

2. St Peter's Church

0.39 MILES

This is the oldest functioning Roman Catholic church in Malaysia, built in 1710 by descendants of early Portuguese settlers. It's quite an elegant picture…

3. Villa Sentosa

0.47 MILES

The highlight of visiting the charming Malay village of Kampung Morten is this living museum within a 1920s kampung (village) house. Visitors (or rather,…

4. St Francis Xavier's Church

0.57 MILES

A central landmark, this mid-19th-century neo-Gothic building was once the largest church built by the MEP (Paris Foreign Missionary) in the Malay…

5. Shore Oceanarium

0.58 MILES

This aquarium on the 2nd floor of The Shore Shopping Gallery jazzes up the usual fish-in-tanks viewing experience with 3D movies and visual effects in its…

6. Sky Tower Malacca

0.58 MILES

Starting on the 43rd floor of the Shore complex and going up to the building's roof, this is – at 153m – Melaka City's highest viewpoint. The panorama of…

7. Zheng He Duo Yun Xuan

0.71 MILES

A Shanghai-based auction house has funded this impressive gallery split between two large converted warehouses facing the Melaka River and entered from…

8. Christ Church

0.71 MILES

Built in 1753 from laterite bricks brought from Zeeland in Holland, this eye-catching cherry-pink church is one of the most photographed and imposing…