Semarang, Java, Indonesia

Hello Everyone!

We arrived at the port of Semarang, Java, Indonesia this morning (24 Feb 2026) about 7:00am. Semarang is the 5th largest city in Indonesia and has a population of about 1.7 million people. It is the capital of Central Java and is best known for its Dutch colonial heritage, historic Chinatown, distinctive local foods, and major port role on Java’s north coast. There is a strong Chinese-Indonesian heritage here, and Semarang is home to one of Java’s oldest Chinese communities.

It is a major port on the north side of the island of Java and was a colonial Dutch trading hub. The port is vary active to this day and serves as a gateway to the rest of the island.

The Port of Semarang

This port is very much focused on shipping. There is no passenger terminal here, but there are thousands of containers around the bustling facility. Cranes go non-stop moving shipping containers between trucks and ships. This was the view of the port facility from our ship:

Semarang Port Panorama

Port of Semarang

Port of Semarang

Excursion - The Dutch Heritage of Semarang

The excursion I chose for today took us to three sites around the city of Semarang. We saw the Ranggawarsita Museum (a natural history museum), the Gereja Blenduk (the oldest Christian church in Semarang), and the Sam Poo Kong Chinese Temple.

Ranggawarsita Museum

The Ranggawarsita Museum in Semarang is the largest and most comprehensive museum in Central Java, with roughly 50,000–60,000 artifacts covering natural history, archaeology, culture, and modern Indonesian history. Unfortunately, we only had about 45 minutes here, so we could only scratch the surface. 

Its collections are grouped into major domains such as:

• Geology and natural history
• Archaeology
• Ethnography and traditional arts
• Islamic and colonial history
• Independence struggle
• Technology and daily life

There are four buildings, and we had time to see most of the first two:

1. Geology & prehistory
2. Hindu–Buddhist → Islamic → colonial eras
3. Independence struggle
4. Ethnography & performing arts

The exhibits are well done, but the English explanations are a bit sparse. Fortunately, our guide was able to elaborate on the captions and give us more complete information.

Outside the Museum

This Javanese gamelan was in the foyer. A gamelan orchestra consists of 26 musicians playing a variety of flutes, gongs, bells, xylophones, and drums. Some of my previous posts showed pictures and videos of gamelan orchestras in action.

Javanese Gamelan

We saw some exquisite wood carvings. The amount of detail in these is truly astounding.

Teak Wood Carving

This carved teak panel for the entryway to one of the exhibits was massive. I can't imagine how many manhours went into creating it.

Gigantic Carved Entryway

This is a closeup of the panel shown above. Note the intricate detail.

Wood Carving Detail

The museum begins with prehistoric Java. There were many exhibits of bones and fossils, including a nearly complete mastodon skeleton and remains of early man.

Life-size Mastodon Exhibit

Mastodon Skeleton

Homo Sapiens Skull

In the section on Islamic and Buddhist history, we saw several carved statues of the Buddha. The hand positions (mudras) in Buddha images are a standardized symbolic language. Each gesture conveys a specific meaning — such as enlightenment (earth-touching), meditation, protection, teaching, or compassion. This particular mudra is the Dharmachakra Mudra, or "Turning the Wheel of Dharma". It symbolizes setting the wheel of Buddhist teaching in motion. Dharma is the principle of right order — the duty, law, and way of living that sustains moral, social, and cosmic harmony.

Buddha Carvings

This model depicts a Prambanan Temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The actual temple is in Central Java and dates to the 9th century. It is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia.

Prambanan (9th Century) Hindu Temple

This ship model depicts a Javanese jong, a large ocean-going trading ship used by Indonesian sailors during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Javanese Jong

Sam Poo Kong Chinese Temple

Next, we proceeded to the Sam Poo Kong Chinese Temple (Gedung Batu), a historic Chinese temple complex in Semarang. It honors the Chinese Admiral Zheng He and pays homage to the deep, centuries-old connection between Chinese maritime traders and Java.

Sam Poo Kong Temple

The complex is unusual because it blends Chinese folk religion, Confucian elements, Taoist influence,  and local Javanese practices. Both Chinese Indonesians and Javanese Muslims have historically venerated the site.

Sam Poo Kong Temple

Sam Poo Kong Temple

Scented Candles at Sam Poo Kong Temple

Our guide referred to this incinerator as an "early ATM". Traditionally it was used to "send" money to deceased relatives so that they could pay their way into the afterlife. The paper money was burned in these ovens.

Early ATM?

These lanterns hung throughout the temple are a more modern form of making offerings. Your donation is recognized by a lantern hung from the ceiling, and each has a prayer card attached telling who it is for and what the intention is.

Offering Lanterns

I don't speak Javanese or Chinese, but I do speak Cat! I was able to make a new friend on the temple grounds. I loved his "buck teeth" mustache.

Friendly Native

Can I Take Him Home?

We were treated to a small snack and traditional Chinese Lion Dance performance. The three lion puppets/costumes were each operated by two dancers, and were very colorful. They could open and close the mouth of the puppet, and even blink the eyes. It was quite entertaining!

Click this link to see a video the dancers in action, working the crowd. I had a front row seat!

Lion Dancers Preparing for Performance

Lion Dance Puppet

Lion Dance Puppet

Lion Dance Puppet

After enjoying the lion dance, we re-boarded our bus and headed to the old section of Semarang. Portions have been preserved to show the influence of early Dutch colonialism. We walked through the streets and saw several nicely-restored buildings.

Old Town Semarang

Old Town Semarang

We visited the Gereja Blenduk (The Domed Church), the oldest protestant church in Semarang. It was founded in 1753 and rebuilt in 1894. Its distinctive copper dome and central position in the city make it the Semarang's most recognizable colonial-era landmark and an enduring symbol of Dutch influence in Central Java.

There is a beautiful Baroque style organ in the church. The organ was installed in 1894 during the rebuild of the church, and it was updated with a more modern pneumatic action in 1921. Unfortunately, it has fallen into disrepair and the works are badly damaged by termites. Only the façade has been preserved, and the instrument has been completely inoperative for more than 20 years.

Organ Dating to 1894

Church Sanctuary

We returned to the ship after touring the church. I spent the afternoon relaxing and taking pictures of the port, then got showered and changed for dinner. 

We set sail for Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, late in the afternoon. We'll continue through the night and arrive at about noon tomorrow. Jakarta is Indonesia's largest metro area and the most heavily populated city in the country. In fact, it is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. We're schedule to stay overnight, and I've got three interesting excursions planned, one of which is another cooking course. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Jim