PANGKALPINANG

kotamadya (municipality) and chief settlement of Bangka island, Sumatera Selatan provinsi (province), Indonesia, located in the east-central part of the island. It is a major port on the Java Sea and has an airport. The city's population consists mostly of Hakkas, originally from Kwangtung province, China. Locally they are called Perankan (Indonesian: Children of the Indies), and they speak a creolized Hakka dialect. Household industries include wood carving, metalwork, weaving, plaiting, and basket making. Coastal vessels are built and repaired there, and deep-sea fishing is important. The island of Bangka produces pepper, and tin from mines on the island is smelted at Pangkalpinang. The city exports tin, pepper, fish, and copra. It is connected by road to other municipalities and towns on the island. Pop. (1990) 108,411.