TANGERANG in the 16th century. A Portuguese traveler named Tome Pires set foot on the northern shore of Java. He was surprised to see a colony of Chinese living in harmony with the natives in the harbor kingdom of Banten. He was even more surprised as he went further inland. He couldnt distinguish between the two ethnic groups except for the slanting of eyes peculiar to the Chinese.

The Chinese have been in Banten long before the Europeans. The fi