Padang Panjang

Padang Panjang (sometimes written as Padangpanjang, and spelt as Padang Pandjang in the Dutch East Indies era, lit.'long field', Jawi: ڤادڠ ڤنجڠ) is a city located at 0°27′S100°25′E / 0.450°S 100.417°E / -0.450; 100.417 in the highlands of West Sumatra, around 70 km inland from the provincial capital Padang. It sits on a plateau beneath the volcanoes Mount Marapi and Mount Singgalang, thus creating cooler temperatures. It was a popular tourist destination during Dutch rule in Indonesia, and it later became one of the centres of Islamic education in Sumatra.

Home to a famous performing arts conservatorium, Institut Seni Indonesia Padang Panjang (Indonesian Art Institute Padang Panjang), the town stretches up the hill from the marketplace and central mosque to the soccer field and bus terminal up to ISI. The main road through Padang Panjang links coastal Padang and the highland capital, Bukittinggi. The city is also home to the Minangkabau Cultural Documentation and Information Center (Indonesian: Pusat Dokumentasi dan Informasi Kebudayaan Minangkabau or PDIKM). It covers a land area of 23 km, and in 2025 had a population of 60,264 (comprising 30,279 males and 29,985 females).