Sugar and the City: The Contribution of Three Chinese-Indonesians to Architecture and Planning in the Dutch East Indies (1900–1942)

Around 1900, the Dutch East Indies was a multicultural and international society populated by Indonesians, Europeans, British Indians, Arabs and Chinese. The Chinese, although one of the colony’s ethnic minorities, contributed considerably to its economic and urban development. This article examines the professional and private lives of three Chinese-Indonesians: Tjong A Fie, Oei Tiong Ham and Liem Bwan Tjie. Tjong was a first-generation Chinese who left China and settled in Medan where he soon became one of the wealthiest citizens. Oei was a second-generation Chinese. Born into a trading fami... Mehr ...