Kepong

Kepong is a town in the northwest of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, roughly ten kilometres from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and administered by Kuala Lumpur City Hall. It lies against the border with Selayang in the state of Selangor and is neighboured by Bukit Lagong and Selayang to the north, Segambut to the south, Sentul to the east and Sungai Buloh to the west, with the river Sungai Keroh running through it. Kepong began as a Chinese tin-mining village and has kept a mostly Chinese population ever since. Its name is explained by two theories: the Malay word kepong, a variant of kepung meaning to enclose, because mountains surround the town, or the Red Meranti tree known in Malay as Pokok Meranti Kepong. Its best known open space is Kepong Metropolitan Park, a former mining area of about 218.8 acres reclaimed around a man-made lake.