Ayer Itam

Ayer Itam (formerly spelt as Air Itam) is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately 6 km southwest of the city centre. The suburb is home to Kek Lok Si, touted as the largest Buddhist temple in the country.

Etymology
Ayer Itam got its name from the murky waters of the Air Itam River (Malay: Sungai Air Itam). The phrase 'Air Hitam ' means black water in Malay.

History
Soon after the founding of Penang Island in 1786, British East India Company officials, led by Captain Francis Light, began exploring and clearing the interior of the island for agricultural purposes. Pepper and nutmeg farms were then established at the hills of Ayer Itam, while Light also commissioned the planting of strawberries at Penang Hill. The Anglo-Indian Suffolk House, one of Light's residences, was also built within a pepper estate by the Air Itam River.

The agricultural village of Ayer Itam grew throughout the 19th century, populated by farmers who owned the fruit and vegetable farms at the surrounding hills. To this day, fresh produce are produced at the foothills of Ayer Itam and distributed daily to the wet markets all over the city.

In 1890, construction of the Kek Lok Si Temple, now one of the largest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia, commenced. Its main pagoda combines Chinese, Siamese and Burmese styles. The temple was finally opened to the public in 1905.

Ayer Itam was once home to the Penang Zoological Gardens, the first zoo in Malaysia. Supposedly opened in the 1920s by a monk named Fa Kong, the zoo was shut down for good prior to World War II due to the excessive maintenance costs.

The Great Ayer Itam Fire of 1935 destroyed more than 100 homes in the area. At the time, the residences at Ayer Itam were mostly wooden; this incident led to the construction of brick buildings within the suburb.

The area was also a hinterland which hid refugees fleeing from the episodes of violence that had occasionally erupted in the city. For instance, the Penang Riots of 1867 forced some residents within the city centre to evacuate to Ayer Itam. World War II, however, brought even greater numbers of refugees to the suburb. During the war, when the Imperial Japanese Army implemented the Sook Ching purges, Ayer Itam became one of the sites where Chinese civilians were massacred.

The urbanisation of Ayer Itam since the 1950s has brought about a concurrent increase in living standards and transformed the landscape with more high rises, making the suburb one of the more densely populated areas in George Town.

Geography
Located in the valley between Batu Lanchang Hill, Bukit Penara and Penang Hill, this suburb of George Town is connected to the city centre by two main roads, Ayer Itam Road and Batu Lanchang Lane. It is also connected to Paya Terubong and the south of the island via Paya Terubong Road. The suburb covers an area of 1.8 km2 and includes neighbourhoods developed later in the post-independence era such as Rifle Range.

Demographics
, Ayer Itam was home to a population of 16,974, resulting in a population density of 9430 /km2. Ethnic Chinese constituted over 72% of the area's population, while Malays formed another 12%. Indians comprised more than 11% of the suburb's population.

Transportation
Ayer Itam Road, which stretches from the city centre to Paya Terubong, remains the major thoroughfare at Ayer Itam, with a total length of about 4.5 km. Other major roads, such as Batu Lanchang Lane, Thean Teik Road and Thean Teik Highway, have been widened to cope with the increasing traffic.

Rapid Penang buses 13, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 306 and 502 serve the residents of the suburb, by connecting Ayer Itam with various destinations within the city, including the city centre, Paya Terubong, the Penang International Airport, Queensbay Mall and Balik Pulau.

Education
A total of 10 primary schools, three high schools and a technical school are located within Ayer Itam. Notably, the suburb is home to Chung Ling High School, one of the premier Chinese schools in Penang. Founded in 1917, it has retained the consistent academic performance of its students.

The schools at Ayer Itam are as listed below.

Primary schools High schools Technical school
 * SRK Ayer Itam
 * SRK Padang Tembak
 * SRK Seri Indah
 * St. Xavier's Primary School
 * SRJK (C) Chung Hwa Confucian
 * SRJK (C) Kong Min Pusat
 * SRJK (C) Kong Min Cawangan Satu
 * SRJK (C) Kong Min Cawangan Kedua
 * SRJK (C) Shang Wu
 * SRJK (C) Sin Kang
 * Chung Ling High School
 * Chung Ling Private High School
 * SMK Air Itam
 * SMT Tunku Abdul Rahman

Tourist attractions

 * Kek Lok Si Temple
 * Suffolk House
 * Ayer Itam Market, where some of the most famous Penang dishes, such as asam laksa and curry mee, can be sampled
 * Chinese Anti-War Memorial
 * Jade Emperor's Pavilion