Pictures above are copyrighted. © 2010 See Tho Chee Seong | 以上的照片 © 2010 司徒旨祥
半山芭这条和吉隆坡市区相连的老街区
承载着先民开埠垦荒的足迹
它见证了时代的变迁和许多重要的历史事件
英殖民时代、三年零八个月、马来亚独立、五一三...
经过了岁月的洗涤
它并没有因为时代进步而得到更好的发展和维护
反而一些有代表性的老建筑物
百年的Pudu监狱、金华、星光、大华旧戏院
陆续被拆除...
居民见证这些“非物质遗产”，讲述留不住的空白
传统老行业、印刷业、多元的电子街，老巴刹...
形成的社区总汇
逐步纪录，逐步发掘其隐含的历史人文价值
且听他、她、它说话...
Pudu is one of the significant historical places, which has witnessed the development of Kuala Lumpur from a little trade settlement serving few surrounding mines to a prosperous capital city of today. According to historians, the Pudu village has existed since around 120 years ago mostly occupied by early Chinese settlers who were involved in the tin mining industry and other small local trades. It was mainly a Chinese community from the very start, even until now, the area is largely populated by Chinese community with an increasing number of foreign workers.
Located right next to the robust, highly commercialized and ever-evolving Bukit Bintang, Pudu has remained relatively the same for the last 50 years. It has experienced a slower pace of development compared to its neighboring commercial districts, making it an aging community with more of old buildings occupied by long established small businesses and a few dying trades, and less of a place thriving with community activities like once it used to be.
Due to the rapid development in Kuala Lumpur, a few of the significant landmarks, which are part of the collective memory of the locals who have lived or are still living in the Pudu area, have since been demolished, such as the five cinemas and the railway station.
This community art project is initiated as an attempt to rediscover the significant cultural value of Pudu via a series of community-based arts and culture programs in the hope of engaging the locals in building the groundwork for communal bonding, with the ultimate aim of revitalizing the community.
