Kuching Waterfront

Kuching Waterfront
The redeveloped waterfront area of Kuching

Kuching's waterfront was once lined with run-down warehouses and other remnants of the city's past as a port city. In the early 1990s the Sarawak state economic development corporation undertook a complete renewal of the area, tearing down most of the dilapidated old buildings and replacing them with a pleasant park and promenade. While retaining such historic buildings as the Chinese courthouse, the new development has created a popular urban space where people come to relax and dine in the evening.

The waterfront stretches along the front of the Bazaar from the Riverside Suites building up to the old shipyards. While there are several food kiosks along the way, most of them are only open in the evening. There's one 'fancy' restaurant in the park, the James Brooke Bistro near the Chinese Museum. At the other end of the waterfront is the old Square Tower, a small fortress used as a prison.

Across the river from the waterfront, the scene is dominated by the fantastical structure of the Sarawak Legislative Complex.