Surabaya

is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the Madura Strait, it is one of the earliest port cities in Southeast Asia. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Surabaya is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Jakarta, Medan, and Makassar. The city has a population of 2.87 million within its city limits at the 2020 census and 9.5 million in the extended Surabaya metropolitan area, making it the second-largest metropolitan area in Indonesia.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification system, Surabaya features a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw), with distinct wet and dry seasons. The city’s wet season runs from October through May, while the dry season covers the remaining four months. Unlike many cities and regions with a tropical wet and dry climate, average high and low temperatures are very consistent throughout the year, with an average high temperature of around 31 °C and average low temperatures of around 23 °C.

Language

Most citizens speak a dialect of East Javanese called Suroboyoan, a subdialect of the Arekan dialect. A stereotype of this dialect concerns equality and directness in speech. The use of register is less strict than the Central Java dialect. The Suroboyoan dialect is a mixture of both Indonesian and Javanese, also with some significant influence from foreign languages such as Madurese, which has formed a distinctive dialect known as Suroboyoan. The Suroboyoan dialect is actively promoted in local media, such as in local TV shows, radio, newspapers, and traditional dramas called Ludruk.

Important landmarks

  • Suramadu Bridge, which connects Surabaya to the nearby Madura island.
  • Kebun Binatang Surabaya (Surabaya Zoo) opened in 1916. It was the first Zoo in the world to breed orangutans in captivity.
  • Zheng He (Cheng Ho) Mosque, a recently built mosque, is one of the unique mosques with Chinese-style architecture in Indonesia. Dedicated to the Hui Chinese diplomat, Zheng He.
  • Al-Akbar Mosque, is the largest mosque in East Java.
  • Church of the Birth of Our Lady, Surabaya, one of the first churches to be built in Indonesia, and the first one ever built in East Java.
  • Heroes Monument, a 41 meters (135 ft) high monument, is the main symbol of Surabaya and commemorates the heroes of the revolutionary struggle. There is a museum on location as well, exhibiting reminders of the struggle for independence.
  • Museum Nahdlatul Ulama, the resource center of the culture and history of Nahdlatul Ulama, an independent Islamic religious organization.
  • Museum Bank Indonesia, a bank museum occupying the former De Javasche Bank built in 1904.
  • House of Sampoerna, a museum devoted to the history of clove cigarette (kretek) manufacturing in Indonesia, housed in Dutch colonial buildings dating to 1864.
  • Wisma Intiland, most famous brutalist building in Surabaya.
  • Jalesveva Jayamahe Monument, a large, admiral-like statue that commemorates the Indonesian Navy.
  • Monkasel, abbreviated from Monumen Kapal Selam (Submarine Monument), was a Soviet-built Whiskey class submarine (named KRI Pasopati (410)), first launched in 1952, served in the Indonesian Navy from 1962 until decommissioned in 1990. After its decommissioning, Pasopati was dismantled and transferred to its present site in 1996. The submarine was reassembled on the current site and opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1998.
  • Kenjeran Beach, located in the eastern of Surabaya, which also housed Sanggar Agung, a Chinese temple built over the sea.
  • Market of the Chinese Tomb, last resting place of Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen, magnate, mandarin and landlord in Surabaya and East Java, and patriarch of the patrician Han family of Lasem
  • Han Ancestral Hall, a historic house that serves as a memorial temple for the ancestors of the Han family of Lasem
  • Tomb of Sunan Ampel
  • Bungkul Park, one of the most visited urban parks in Surabaya.
  • Wisma Intiland, a brutalist building in Downtown Surabaya.
  • Museum Pendidikan Surabaya

Transportation

Transportation in Surabaya is supported by land and sea infrastructure serving local, regional, and international journeys. Air transport is located at Juanda Airport, at Sedati, Sidoarjo. Intracity transport is primarily by motor vehicles, motorcycles and taxis with limited public bus transport available. Recently Surabaya has been declared as the city with the worst congestion in Indonesia, according to a survey.

Surabaya is also a transit city between Jakarta and Bali for ground transportation. Another bus route is between Jakarta and the neighboring island of Madura. In 2018, President Joko Widodo inaugurated final segments of the Trans-Java Toll Road, fully connecting Jakarta and Surabaya with expressways.

Airport

Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport is a passenger and cargo airport which also serves as Surabaya’s Navy Airbase, operated by the TNI-AL (Indonesian Navy) and located just outside Surabaya, on the outskirts of Sidoarjo. This airport has served Surabaya for many years and currently has two terminals, with domestic flights served from Terminal 1 and all international flights and Garuda Indonesia’s domestic flights serviced from Terminal 2.

Seaport

Port of Tanjung Perak is the trading port in East Java and is one of the busiest ports in the country. It is the second-largest port of trade, container and passenger traffic in Indonesia after the Port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta. There is also Teluk Lamong Port Terminal, which is the main buffer terminal of Tanjung Perak Port. The port terminal of Lamong Bay is the first green port in Indonesia and is one of the most sophisticated port terminals in the world where the entire operating system is automated.

Train

Surabaya has three major train stations, being Surabaya Kota (also known as Semut), Surabaya Pasar Turi, and Surabaya Gubeng. The Argo Bromo Anggrek operated by Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) connects Surabaya from Surabaya Pasar Turi Station to Gambir Station in Jakarta. Both economy and executive class trains are served to and from Surabaya.

Commuter trains in the city has 5 separate lines (as of 2021) that connect Surabaya with surrounding regencies. Their services, also operated by KAI, have extended into Lamongan, Mojokerto, Sidoarjo, and Pasuruan.

Surabaya formerly had an approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) of tram network, operated by a private company Oost-Java Stoomtram Maatschappij. It was opened in 1889 and closed by PJKA (former name of KAI) in 1978. There are plans to reopen the network in the future.

Surabaya MRT (planned) with Track Gauge Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and from KOICA Railways Mass transit in Surabaya, Surabaya MRT with Rolling stock Hyundai Rotem, Rapid transit Jakarta and Surabaya corridor. System Mass Metro Rapid transit in Greater Surabaya (Surabaya, Gresik and Sidoarjo) on the Generation surabaya mass rapid transit with track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) in Korea Rapid Transit from prime minister Chung Sye-kyun, of Eri Cahyadi Mayor of the Surabaya City of Rail Transport in Indonesia-Korea.

Bus

The main bus terminal is Terminal Purabaya (located in Bungurasih, Waru, Sidoarjo), the other major terminal is Osowilangon in Tambak.

Public transport

There are various kinds of local transport, including taxi-cabs, Suroboyo Bus, shuttle bus service, city bus, angkot, and commuter rail. Go-Jek and Grab are also available throughout the city.