Square

Medan Pasar

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Medan Pasar — Wikimedia Commons image

Medan Pasar, or Market Square, is one of Kuala Lumpur’s early commercial centers near the Klang River. Its clock tower and surrounding historic shophouses preserve the pattern of trade and civic life that helped the settlement become a city.

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The square’s name tells you what this place once did. Medan Pasar, or Old Market Square, developed around a market established by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, and it became a meeting point for traders as Kuala Lumpur grew from a mining settlement.

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Quick facts

  • Medan Pasar was also called Old Market Square, a name recorded from 1893.
  • The first market in the area was established by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy.
  • Its Art Deco clock tower was built in 1937 to commemorate King George VI’s coronation.

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