Introduction

The city from the Islamic Centre. © Richard I'Anson. Lonely Planet Images

In 130 years, Kuala Lumpur has grown from nothing to a modern, bustling city of well over a million people. Superficially, K.L. (as it's almost universally known) may appear to be just another modern Asian city of gleaming skyscrapers, but it retains much of the character and local color that has been so effectively wiped out in other Asian-boom cities such as Singapore. It has plenty of colonial buildings in its center, a vibrant Chinatown with street vendors and night markets, and a bustling Little India.

When K.L. does something, it likes to do it big. The twin Petronas Towers skyscrapers--the tallest building in the world--dominate the skyline, while in Merdeka Square stands a 95m (312ft) flagpole. Despite the economic crisis, Kuala Lumpur is currently the site of large-scale development, with work underway on a new US$8 billion city on the southern fringe of the capital as well as an adjoining 'ultra-high-tech multimedia supercorridor'. Before the Asian economic crisis hit in 1997 there were also plans to build the world's longest building, too.