Kampar is the largest town of the eponymous Kampar District, Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1887, the town lies within the Kinta Valley, an area rich with tin reserves. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the height of the tin mining industry. Many tin towns were established in the late 19th century, flourished in the 1900s, only to stagnate and decline after World War I, with the exception of an exhilarating boom in the 1920s. Most have closed down following the collapse of the industry, especially in the late 20th century.
Kampar Town
Panorama view of Kampar with UTAR can be seen in the distance
Merdeka Clock Tower in Kampar
Overview of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Perak is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's Yala and Narathiwat provinces both lie to the northeast. Perak's capital city, Ipoh, was known historically for its tin-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, severely affecting the state's economy. The royal capital remains Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located. As of 2018, the state's population was 2,500,000. Perak has diverse tropical rainforests and an equatorial climate. The state's mountain ranges belong to the Titiwangsa Mountains, which is part of the larger Tenasserim Hills system that connects Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.
The Tambun rock art of the Neolithic era in Tambun near Ipoh
Iron socketed axe from Perak, British Museum, c. 100 BC–AD 200
The 1670 Dutch Fort on Pangkor Island, built as a tin ore warehouse by the Dutch East India Company
Semang from Gerik or Janing, Perak, 1906