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History of Taiping
Train Station
The first Taiping railway station was opened in 1885 and is situated where the King Edward VII Primary School now stands. The station was officiated by Sir Hugh Low. The station was the eastern terminus of the Taiping-Port Weld Railway Line, Malaysia's first railway line. The tracks of the line no longer exist as they were dismantled in the 1980s.
The second station, which replaced the original Taiping railway station, was the relocated to the Jalan Stesen site between the 1890s to early 1900s. This station was in operation until it was replaced by a new station that was built as part of the Ipoh -Padang Besar Electrification and Double -Tracking Project. The old station is still standing and is being preserved.
Muzeum Taiping
The Perak Museum in Taiping is the first and oldest museum in Malaysia. It was founded in 1883 by Sir Hugh Low, the fourth British Resident of Perak (1877 to 1889). It owes its establishment to the fund-raising efforts of Sir Hugh Low and Sir Frank Swettenham, Resident of Perak from 1889–1895, Resident-General of the Federated Malay States (now Malaysia) in 1896–1901, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements 1901–1904.
The museum was initially concerned with natural history, particularly ethnography, zoology, botany and geology, all key areas of interest of its founder Sir Hugh Low. Its first curator was Mr. Leonard Wray Jr., a botanist, geologist and Superintendent of Government Hill at Larut (1883 to 1903).
In the beginning, the museum was housed in some renovated government offices while the main building of Neo-classical design was under construction in 1883. The building comprised an office, library and exhibition hall (Gallery A) and was only completed in 1886 due to lack of funds. In 1889, extensions to the museum's front and back were added. A new exhibition hall (Gallery B) was constructed in 1891 to 1893. As the collection of exhibits grew, a new two-storey building (Gallery C and D) were added from 1900 to 1903.
Lake Garden Taiping
The Taiping Lake Gardens was originally a mining ground before it was established as a public garden in 1880. The idea of a public garden was the brainchild of Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker.The garden was developed by Charles Compton Read (1880–1933), who was also responsible for planning theKuala Lumpur garden town, together with Lady Swettenham.
The abandoned tin mine ground was donated by Chung Thye Phin as a recreation park for public use. In 1884 the gardens were planted with grasses, flowers, and trees; a part of the gardens was fenced, to keep bulls out.
The 64 hectares (160 acres) site was the first public garden in Malaya, and was cherished for its beauty; it has been well-maintained since its opening. There are ten scenic lakes and ponds, which highlight the gardens. Along Residency Road, near the gardens, were golden rain trees (Malay: Samanea saman) or hujan-hujan (pterocarpus indicus) planted along the pathway. In George L. Peet’s A Journal in the Federal Capital, when he visited Taiping in 1933 he said “I know of no more lovely sight in this country than the Taiping gardens when the rays of the early morning sun are shining obliquely through their clumps of bamboo, palms and isolated trees scattered on islands among the expanse of water. One receives in that glorious half hour an experience of light in foliage that is quite unobtainable in England”.
Zoo Taiping
Taiping Zoo (Malay: Zoo Taiping) is a zoological park located at Bukit Larut, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1961, Taiping Zoo is the oldest zoo in Malaysia.
It is one of the major zoological parks in Malaysia. It covers 36 acres (15 ha) and exhibits 1300 animals representing 180 species of amphibians,mammals, and reptiles. It also has a night safari. As the only zoo in North Malaysia, it tends to receive a large number of visitors. It houses the largest number of stump-tailed macaques in Malaysia, which is thirteen, compared to six at the National Zoo of Malaysia (Zoo Negara) and five at the Malacca Zoo.
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