Painan is a coastal town that serves as the capital of the South Pesisir

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is an urban centre (''kelurahan'') in IV Jurai District.

History

There is no certain historical document or archive that holds the origin of the town's name. According to the local folklore, the name 'Painan' is originated from ''paik nian'', which means "very bitter" in bahasa Minangkabau, the language of the

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

people who lives in the area. The phrase ''paik nian'' itself might refer to how difficult the life of the town's local people in the past. It is might also reflect the fact that the town's topography (surrounded by hills and rivers) caused this place to be difficult to traverse by travelers. This coastal town became an important place during Indonesia's colonial period since 1663 when the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, via the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

set-up a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

in ''Pulau Cingkuk'' (Cingkuk Island), one of many islands that are located offshore the town, as documented in the "Perjanjian Painan" or 'Painan Treaty'. Through the treaty, the local chiefs of West Coast of Sumatra were also bound themselves to supply pepper and gold to the Dutch.

Economy

Nowadays, as the capital of South Pesisir regency, this town is the center of economic activities in the regency. According to the regency's website, this town's main economic activities lies on

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

, fishery, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

.http://www.pesisirselatan.go.id

Education

Painan has 4 Kindergartens and 2 Play Groups. It also has 9 Primary schools, 2 Junior High schools, 1 Senior High school, 1 Public High school and 1 University.

Administration

Painan is divided into 3 administrative villages or '' kelurahan'' : # East Painan # Painan # South Painan

Climate

Painan has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Tourism

Paragliding at Langkisau Hill - Painan 2009

These are several tourist attractions in Painan : #

Paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

from the town's Langkisau Hill # Panorama of the Kabung Bay Hills . # Taratak River in Lundang # Mandeh Tourism Area # Batu Kalang Beach and the Gulf Coast Sikulo # Jembatan akar or "Tree-Root Bridge", a bridge that forms from the fabric of the root from two trees that grow across and extends over a stream # Bayang Sani Waterfalls (also known as Welkum, a former Dutch era bathhouse) # Lumpo Waterfall # Langkisau Hill (sights and paragliding) # Carocok Beach # Timbulun Waterfall # Salido Kecil (a famous gold mine during the era of Dutch East Indies) # Nipah River shore # Cingkuk Island (Site of the ruin of a Portuguese-Dutch fort) # Kerabak Island # Turtle Island # Teluk Kasai Beach

Notes

External links

* http://int-mark.blogspot.com/2009/03/kota-painan-kota-rang-pasisia.html * http://kotapainan.blogspot.com/2008/12/kota-painan.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20101223161630/http://www.pesisirselatan.go.id/ * http://wawasanislam.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/salido-sejak-kerjaan-lumbung-ameh/ {{Coord, 1, 21, 4, S, 100, 34, 32, E, type:city, display=title Populated places in West Sumatra Regency seats of West Sumatra