Sungai Lembing

Exploring The Living Museum of Sungai Lembing

Go back in time and remember the glory days of tin mining industry in Sungai Lembing as you set foot in this 2-storey building of Sungai Lembing Museum located in Pahang, Malaysia.  

It’s history time for our group as we visit and take a tour at the living museum of Sungai Lembing. There’s so much to learn about the place, that is why you should consider adding this to your itinenrary especially if you love history.

sungai-lembing-museum

 Sungai Lembing derived its name from the word “lembing” which means “spear”, a weapon used for hunting. According to the legend, There’s a group of hunters who speared a deer, The deer managed to escape into the river and disappeared with the spear still stuck in its body. Later on, the tin miners gravelling in the river found the spear. From that day on the residents started calling the place “Sungai Lembing”.

Sungai Lembing Museum

 Sungai Lembing Museum opened it’s doors to public in 2005, showcasing different artifacts from the underground tin mining activities including a walkthrough of the history on how this multi-million or billion dollar industry started and ended.
sungai-lembing-museum-as-residence-of-british-mine-managers-2

The Sungai Lembing Museum building itself is used to be the residence of the British mine managers. It began as a small building made of nature materials such as palm fronds for its roof and tree bark for its walls. It was then renovated several times from year 1911 to 1966 under different tin mining administrations. The mining concessions at Sungai Lembing was first leased to the Pahang  Corporation Limited(PCL) from 1887 to 1906 and to the Pahang Consolidated Company Limited(PCCL) from 1906 to 1986 subsequently.

Year 1945, during the World War 2, this building was turned into japanese armed forces headquarters. The building became Pahang Consolidated Company Limited’s(PCCL) headquarters after the Japanese surrendered, until the mining activities were shut down in 1986.
sungai-lembing-tin-mines-original-signage
Sungai Lembing has one of the biggest reserve for Tin in the world. It is also known as the biggest underground tin mines worldwide. No wonder the tin industry was a big hit and has contributed a lot to Pahang state’s economy as well as the whole country of Malaysia.
sungai-lembing-underground-mining-model
Look, this is  the underground mining model of Sungai Lembing Mines. The real one covers about 40 miles of tunnels and its depth is 2,400 feet below the land surface which was deepest tin mine in South East Asia.

Wow! I cannot imagine how hard for the miners with limited equipments to dig this deep. Two thumbs up for their perseverance and hard work. Later on as you read more, I will share with you my experiences when I entered and explored some parts of the real Sungai Lembing Tin Mines.

In 1985, Tin’s value dropped an all-time low due to economic recession. The mining company running the Sungai Lembing Tin Mines, PCCL, suffered a substantial loss leading to its closure in year 1986. Sungai Lembing Tin Mine’s operation also ended.

Entrance Fee For Sungai Lembing Museum (Source: www.jmm.gov.my)

Visitor Type
Price
Malaysian Citizen
RM 2.00
Elderly and Disabled (OKU)
RM 1.00
Children aged 12 years old and under (Malaysian Citizen)
Free
High School Students Dressed In Uniform (Malaysian Citizen)
Free
High School Students Not Dressed In Uniform (Malaysian Citizen)
RM 2.00
International Council of Museums Members (ICOM)
Free
Non Malaysian Citizen
RM 5.00
Children aged 6 to 12 years old (Non Malaysian Citizen)
RM 2.00
Children younger than 6 years old (Non Malaysian Citizen)
Free

Sungai Lembing Museum is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Sungai Lembing Underground Tin Mines

Just a few meters away from the museum, you will find the Sungai Lembing Underground Tin Mines ‘actual site.

Sungai Lembing Tin Mines

Before heading inside the underground tin mines, our group listened first to a short briefing and introduction on what to expect inside the tin mines.
 Tin Mine Sungai Lembing

After the briefing, our batch rode this mini train to enter the mines. How exciting! You will be needing your ticket here.

So here’s the video of our train ride on our way inside the Sungai Lembing Underground Tin Mines. 🙂 It would take about more than a minute to ride this so called “The Minecraft” and then you will finish the rest of the tour by foot.

Sungai Lembing mines air hole

As you go further inside, you will feel that the temperature is getting colder. This is due to the air holes which give ventilation inside the underground mines.

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If you’ve seen different mining paraphernalia and other related artifacts used during the glorious mining days in Sungai Lembing Museum, here inside Sungai Lembing Underground Tin Mines, you will see the real tunnels where miners used to dig and pass. I just can’t believe that I was able to see the real thing. It was quite spooky inside but really interesting.

Sungai Lembing mining

Aside from the infoboards located along the visitor’s pathways, there were some interactive areas to enjoy as well.

Sungai Lembing

After finishing the ocular tour for about an hour or more, our group went out to this hole just near the Minecraft.

sungai-lembing-tin-mines-gallery-1

 

sungai-lembing-tin-mines-gallery-4Just a few steps from the exit of the tunnel, there’s a mini gallery where you can see some more old mining tools and equipments.

sungai-lembing-tin-mines-gallery-3

And before leaving the place, we did not miss to try this railroad handcar. It was really fun! confusing but fun!

Sungai Lembing Tin Mines Ticket Prices(Source: sungailembingmines.com.my)

Monday – Sunday*
Normal
MYKAD / MYKID
Adult (18 – 59 years old)
RM31.80
RM15.90
Child (7 – 17 years old)
RM15.90
RM7.95
Senior Citizen (Above 60 years old)
RM15.90
RM7.95
Disabled People
RM15.90
RM7.95

Sungai Lembing Tin Mines 0perating schedule: Monday – Sunday: 9 am – 6 pm

Visitwww.sungailembingmines.com.my for inquiries.


HOW TO GET THERE:

  • Sungai Lembing is located some of 45 km. north-west of Kuantan. Regular local bus services and taxi are available from Makmur bus terminal in Kuantan town. The journey will take between 45 minutes to one hour.  (Source: www.pahangtourism.org.my)
  • From Kuala Lumpur, use the East Coast Highway to get to Kuantan and the drive takes about three hours. Exit at Kuantan Toll Plaza, turn right at the first traffic lights and follow the directions on the signboard. Sungai Lembing is about 30 minutes drive away. An hourly bus service is available from the Kuantan bus terminal. (Source: sungailembingmines.com.my)

Air Asia Philippines will soon have Manila-Kuala Lumpur flights 3x daily starting Oct 29, and Cebu -Kuala Lumpur flights 4x weekly starting Oct 30, 2016.

For more information and inquiries about other destinations in Malaysia, you may contact Tourism Malaysia at: Address: 9th Floor, No. 2, Tower 1, Jalan P5/6, Presint 5, 62200, Putrajaya, Malaysia

Telephone Number: +603-8891 8000

Email: enquiries@tourism.gov.my

Tourism Info Line: 1300 88 5050

Website: http://www.tourism.gov.my/

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