Kuching's heritage deserves more than a scan

Borneo Post

17-05-2025

The Jinli Ancient Street in Chengdu, where centuries-old rooftops meet today's footsteps. Heritage here is not just remembered, but lived.
ON a chilly day in March, my travel companions and I wandered through the wooden corridors of Jinli Ancient Street in Chengdu.
The scent of tea and grilled skewers mingled in the air, while hundreds of lanterns swayed gently above the stone paths.
Around us, echoes of ancient China came alive – but with a twist.
This wasn't nostalgia frozen in time. It was heritage reimagined.
Scattered QR codes led to virtual tours, while augmented reality (AR) prompts unveiled hidden stories.
At every turn, tradition met technology – not as a gimmick, but as a bridge.
Even Wuhou Temple, where the legacy of Zhuge Liang is enshrined, had interactive exhibits that brought the epic tales of the Three Kingdoms to life.
At Dongpo Impression Water Street, a themed area dedicated to poet Su Dongpo, storytelling, architecture, and technology worked in harmony.
The street retained its cultural essence while being a space of learning, leisure, and lively commerce.
Jinli Ancient Street itself offered a more relaxed but equally intentional experience, with teahouses, craft stalls, and vendors weaving the past into everyday life.
The insight was clear – heritage doesn't have to gather dust, it can be a breath of fresh air.
Thinking of home, I pondered upon how these technological applications could boost our own culture and heritage experiences.
With these thoughts, I was heartened to read that the Sarawak Museums Department had recently launched a promising digital initiative in collaboration with the private sector.
The project: to scan, map and archive Kuching's historic buildings in 3D.
To me, it is a timely effort.
Much like how France digitally preserved Notre Dame after the 2019 fire, Sarawak is taking action to safeguard what time, weather, and urban development may soon erase.
Many of Kuching's oldest structures – chophouse's, colonial era buildings, 'kampung' (village) houses and temples – bear the weight of history, but face the risk of neglect or demolition.
Even memory itself is at risk of erasure, as those from the younger generation move away, resulting in fewer families residing in the city's heritage quarters.
Australian-trained architect Jeffrey Yeung, who now heads Elemnts Sdn Bhd (Elemnts) in Kuching, welcomed the digital initiative, but added a cautionary note.
'It's a start,' he said.
'But it cannot be where the effort ends.'
Yeung emphasised that digital preservation must go beyond surface scans.
'We need to understand how these buildings were made – their materials, techniques, and the lives they sheltered.
'We should document them so thoroughly that, if needed, they could be rebuilt – like Cooper's farmhouse in 'Interstellar', faithfully reconstructed from memory and data.
'These structures are more than brick and timber. They carry identity, history, (and) belonging.
'Without them, our city becomes a shell – gleaming, but hollow,' he added.
After all, a scan can save a building's form, but it cannot save its soul.
So how can Sarawak move from just scanning buildings to truly reviving our heritage?
To start, we must first tell our stories.
In Chengdu, I found myself immersed in its rich stories as I wandered around scanning QR codes and AR prompts that supplied me with multilingual content, layered with audio, animation and archival photos.
Sarawak, too, has no lack of rich narratives – from ancestral traditions of the Dayak communities and Brooke-era legacies, to the rhythms of 'kampung' life and the enduring spirit of our multi-ethnic coexistence.
But are we telling them? And more importantly, are they being heard?
Second, preservation must be paired with participation. Places like Jinli thrive because people engage. They shop, sip tea, take photos, and linger.
What if Carpenter Street or Padungan had an AR trail, where users could hear stories from the elders or the stall owners while exploring?
Third, our efforts must reflect our local soul. Chengdu's heritage sites never feel generic – they are unmistakably Sichuan.
Likewise, Sarawak's digital heritage must honour Bornean textures, riverine cultures, and our layered histories.
This isn't about copying, but adapting – with heart.
Finally, heritage is not just about buildings – it's about people.
In Chengdu, the locals are part of the experience.
In Sarawak, the craftsmen, food hawkers, teachers and students must be co-creators, not just bystanders.
While government's support for this is essential, it cannot be a top-down initiative alone because without community involvement, we risk creating sterile archives.
A digital scan can preserve a façade, but only a community can keep a place alive.
The digital documentation of Kuching's heritage buildings is a commendable beginning, but the true goal must be deeper – to preserve stories, soul and connection.
Local councils and developers must resist the urge to sanitise old streets into lifeless 'Instagram sets'.
Let the patina of age remain. Let imperfections speak. Let the streets hum with memory.
Educators and media, too, have a role. Imagine school-children exploring a virtual Kuching, tracing their family's past through digital trails, or hearing the story of the Round Tower as they stand before it.
And to the young: heritage is not just old folks' nostalgia.
It is your inheritance. It is the backdrop to your selfies, the spirit behind the skyline, and perhaps, the legacy you will one day pass on.
I remember sitting quietly on a bench along Jinli Street in Chengdu, watching people laugh and live under lanterns that had witnessed dynasties rise and fall.
The place felt timeless – not because it resisted change, but because it embraced it meaningfully.
Kuching, or any other towns in Sarawak, too, can have that kind of future where the old doesn't fade, but flourishes anew.
Where heritage is not just a memory we visit, but a space we live in; a street where we walk with pride, and a story we keep telling.
Because when we honour the past with the tools of the present, we give the future something to stand on. China heritage Jinli Ancient Street Kuching sarawak