The word Glodok came from the Sundanese word "Golodog", meaning entrance to a house, as Sunda Kalapa is the gateway to the ancient Sundanese Kingdom. It was also thought that the name came from the "grojok grojok" sound that water makes coming out of a waterspout in the yard of the Cityhall, now the Jakarta Museum. A waterspout was built on this site in 1743 and was used for daily needs such as a watering hole for horses.
Early history
In Batavia, Dutch East India Company created commercial opportunities which attracted immigrants from many areas of what is now Indonesia. This economic activity also lured thousands of Chinese people to Java. Swift immigration challenged the city's limited infrastructure and created burdens on the city. Tensions grew as the colonial government tried to restrict Chinese migration through deportations.
Recent history
On 9 October 1740, 5,000 Chinese were massacred and the following year, Chinese inhabitants were ghettoized in Glodok outside the city walls. In 1998, Glodok was one of major areas attacked during the May 1998 riots, primarily due to tensions between pribumi and Chinese Indonesians who lived there, who were accused of hoarding the nation's wealth. In 2006, practitioners of Falun Gong were reportedly "assaulted" during a meditation session. A Falun Gong representative suggested that the assailants were sent by the Chinese embassy, though a local news organization noted another possible motivation: that Falun Gong practitioners had been "disrupting business" by distributing pamphlets.
Attractions
Chinatown
As for shopping centre, most of the vendors in Glodok are Chinese Indonesians. Glodok is the biggest Chinatown area in Indonesia, and one of the biggest Chinatowns in the world. The Chinatown covers three main areas, namely Gang Gloria, Jalan Pancoran and Petak Sembilan. The Chinese came to Jakarta since the 17th century as traders and labourers. Most of them came from Fujian and Guangdong provinces in southern China. Centred on Pintu Besar Selatan Road, it has become a commercial hub for the relatively prosperous Chinese community. Assimilation between Chinese and pribumi made a language known as Betawi language.Chinese New Year celebrations and Cap Go Meh celebrations held in the area are major attractions, after president Gus Dur began lifting restrictions in 2000. The area is now a spot to buy Chinese food, traditional Chinese medicine and cheap electronic goods.
Shopping
Glodok and contiguous of Mangga Dua are one of the biggest shopping centres in Southeast Asia. It stretches from Pancoran street to Gunung Sahari street and has approximately 500,000 m2 of shopping centres. Beside sales of electronic consumer goods, Glodok is also the biggest market for original and bootleg audio and video discs. Some of the shopping centers in this area are:
Other than shopping, Glodok is a spot to buy Chinese food, traditional Chinese medicine and cheap electronic goods. Gang Gloria is a famous place for a wide array of dishes, including gado-gado, soto betawi, ketupat sayur, sek ba and more. Established in 1927, the legendary Kopi Es Tak Kie coffee shop specializes in iced coffee. Rujak Shanghai Encim this fresh salad was established around 1950s. This kind of dish is very rare, and only able find it at Glodok.
Temples and church
There are three temples in the area, namely Dharma Bhakti Temple, Dharma Sakti Temple and Hui Tek Bio temple. Dharma Bhakti temple, which was established in 1650 is the oldest temple in Jakarta. Santa de Fatima Catholic Church, which is built in Chinese architecture located at Jl. Kemurnian III.
