"Tanjung Balai is the main town in the Great Karimun Island as part of the Riau Islands province, Indonesia. In the past, Karimun was the destination of Malay kings and foreign traders. Sir Stamford Raffles is believed to have considered Karimun Island instead of Singapore when looking to establish a settlement."
Chinese Temples
You will find a number of Chinese temples scattered around Tanjung Balai Karimun that were built by the local Chinese Peranakan population. The oldest is Vihara Cetiya Vidya Sagara at Jalan Jenderal A. Yani at Meral, built in 1926. Others along the same street are the Vihara Bodhi Maitreya.an the Vihara Sasana Diepa. Further away at Jalan Athena is the Klenteng Tua Pek Kong.