Why it looks like this

More than 1,300 years ago Palembang was the centre of Srivijaya, the Buddhist maritime empire that controlled the straits of Sumatra; a stone inscription dates the city's founding era to the 680s. It has always been a river city: houses on stilts and rafts line the Musi, and the water was the main street for most of its history.

The Dutch and the sultanate built the older quarters on the north bank; the south bank grew with oil refineries and industry. The Ampera Bridge — a lift bridge opened in 1965, once able to raise its deck for ships — became the city's symbol, tying the two banks together.