|
As the name implies,
'Chinese Hill' was the official settlement of the
Chinese entourage that arrived with Princess Hang Li Po
since at the height of the Malacca Sultanate, the links
with Imperial China was very close.
Hang Li Po was the daughter of the Ming emperor and
Bukit Cina was a gift by Sultan Mansor Shah. She was sent to Malacca by the Emperor to marry the
Sultan to mark the advent of diplomatic relation between
Malacca and China. The entourage which include five
hundred handmaidens stayed on this
settlement until Portuguese occupation in 1511. Today Bukit China is the largest Chinese cemetery outside
China, comprising more than twelve thousand graves and
covering twenty five hectares, with many of the tombs dating back to Ming
Dynasty and has become a landmark and tourist attraction here in Malacca.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
|