Sekinchan (GPS: 3.50656, 101.10237), (Traditional Chinese: 適耕莊; Simplified Chinese: 适耕庄; Pinyin: Shìgēngzhuāng) is a small town in Sabak Bernam District in northern Selangor. This coastal village is a major rice-growing area in the state. In the past few years, it has become a popular tourist destination particularly within the local Chinese community, after it appeared in the Hong Kong TVB drama Outbound Love (单恋双城).
The two main attractions at Sekinchan are the paddy fields and the seaside at Redang Beach. As with most of the villages along the Selangor coast, the local Chinese villagers traditionally speak the same Hokkien dialect as those in Klang, though its proximity to Kuala Lumpur means Cantonese is well understood. On top of that, there is growing use of Mandarin for easy interaction among Chinese from various places.
As we travelled through the town, I couldn't help marvelling at how well it has marketed itself. Essentially located in the middle of nowhere, Sekinchan has managed to attract a largely Chinese market that converges on the town based on the popularity of the TVB drama. Many come here to admire the paddy fields, something not seen in the big towns and cities. The land here is almost absolutely flat, so you can see paddy fields for miles on end.
There is a Wishing Tree next to a big Datuk Kong temple, and of course this attracts only local Chinese visitors. The beach area of Pantai Redang looks like a fiesta was going on full swing, with people flying kites and enjoying food in various makeshift stalls.
GPS: 3.47564, 101.12651 These are makeshift fruit stalls along the Sekinchan Main Road (Federal Route 5). If you come during fruit season, you will find lots of these stalls.
GPS: 3.47471, 101.14867 One of the main draws of Sekinchan for city folks is its paddy fields. The wide expanse of the Sekinchan paddy fields offer marvelous photo opportunities.
GPS: 3.5032, 101.09501 A destination for the largely Taoist visitors, the Wishing Tree is decked up with wishes that are tossed to hang on its branches.
If you are coming from the direction of Kuala Lumpur (as I was), take the North South Expressway (E1) north until Exit 115 (Rawang Selatan), continue on the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (E35) to the next interchange, which is, the LATAR Expressway (E25), which takes you to Ijok. From there, follow the road sign for Kuala Selangor on Route 54. On reaching Kuala Selangor, head north on Route 5 until you reach Sekinchan.
As you drive along the main road of Sekinchan, you will see rows of fruit stalls selling pretty much the same type of fruits. What I like about visiting different parts of the country is that you will come across different types of road side stalls in different parts of Malaysia. Over here in Sekinchan, you will find lots of stalls selling mangoes. I write about the Sekinchan fruit stalls here.
Ng Suee Lim, the state assemblyman for Sekinchan, welcoming visitors to his constituency (7 July, 2016)
My wife and I at the "I Love Sekinchan" signboard, at the famous Redang Beach. (7 July, 2016)
Jalan Bagan is one of the main roads in Sekinchan that leads to the coast (7 July, 2016)
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.