One of the greatest kingdoms in Indonesia history, the buddhist Empire of Sriwijaya, prospered and grew along the bank of the Musi River in Shouth Sumatra over a thousand years ago. Located in the southem-most rim of the Shout China Sea, close to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes linking the Far East With Europe, the region's historical background is rich and colorful.

The Sriwijaya Kingdom practiced a bustling and lucrative trade with ancient China its era of powerful dynasties and in 672,the Chinese scholar Tsing recorded that a thousand monks and scholars could be seen translating and studying Sanskrit in what is now the regional capital of palembang. However, few relics of this memorable era remain.

Streching from the foothills of the mighty Bukit Barisan mountain range in the West Sumatra to the island of Bangka and Belitung in the East, the province of Shout Sumatra is relatively flat but very fertile, with numerous rivers cutting across the landscape and meandering their way to the sea. Coffee and tea are grown in plantations in various parts of the province but the area's enermous wealth comes from oil, natural gas, coal, tin and quartz.

Palembang is still the gateway to the province, and together with Pangkal Pinang on the island of Bangka and Tanjung Pandan on Bilitung, provides the region with three major airports. All three cities have direct connections with Medan, Batam, Padang and Jakarta and the future will see the introduction of flights to Singapore. Air-conditioned busesfrom points north and west of Palembang are also regulary available, as well as from major cities in Java and Bali.

The province of Jambi located on the east coast of Central Sumatra faces the Straits of Malaka sharing borders with four other provinces in Sumatra and has long been a melting pot for different ethnic groups. The earliest inhabitants were the Kubus, who were among the first wave of Malays to migrate to Sumatra. The ancient kingdom of Melayu developed and grew in Jambi and maintained relations with the mighty kingdoms of Sriwijaya, Majapahit and Singasari, but was eventually attacked and annexed by Sriwijaya in the middle of the 17th century. Encompassing an area of 53,435 sq.kms, almost 60% of which is forest, the province is hometo a large variety of fauna and floraand and an exhilarating place for active and adventurous visitors.

 

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