Kuching has several museums, many of them fascinating world class places, housed in classic historic buildings. Here's a list of the main places you might want to visit during your stay in the city.
Housed in a century old building originally built to house the Chinese courts, the museum recounts the history of the Chinese community in Sarawak.
Chinese History Museum
The idea might not sound appealing, but the museum exhibits the quite varied and interesting traditional garments of Sarawak's many cultures.
Sarawak Textile Museum
The main building of the Sarawak Museum The Sarawak Museum is the state's primary venue for displaying the art and history of Sarawak. From a single building the museum has grown into a complex of exhibition halls each displaying a different aspect of the state's cultural heritage. Each of the various building is discussed in detailed in the following pages.
Sarawak Museum Complex Map Natural History Museum This small building displays some examples of the rich flora and fauna of Sarawak.
The old Chinese Courthouse, now the Chinese History Museum The Chinese History Museum is housed in one of the few buildings to be spared by the redevelopment of Kuching's waterfront. The structure was built in 1912 to serve as a courthouse for the Chinese community of Sarawak. The White Rajah Charles Brooke prefered that each community handle its own affairs, such as marriages, divorces and the division of property. Later the building became the offices of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
The Pavilion Building, housing the Sarawak Textile Museum The name may not be catchy, but the Sarawak Textile Museum does house a rather interesting collection of textiles and costumes representing the many different cultures that make up Sarawak.
The building housing the museum is a rather elegant structure built in 1907. It originally served as a medical dispensary and later became the home of the Education Department of Sarawak, before finally being converted to a museum in the year 2000.
