Johor Bahru Tourism and Travel Guide

Johor Bahru (Malaysian pronunciation: [ˈjohorˈbahru], Jawi: جوهر بهرو‎, Chinese: 新山; pinyin: Xīnshān, Tamil: ஜொகூர் பாரு), formerly known as Tanjung Puteri or Iskandar Puteri, is the capital of the state of Johor in Peninsular Malaysia. Johor Bahru has a population of 497,067. It is a part of Iskandar Malaysia, the country's second largest metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 1,805,000 in 2013, and was the southernmost city in the Malay Peninsula.Johor Bahru has been the capital of the Sultanate of Johor since 1866, when the Sultanate administration centre was moved there from Telok Blangah in Singapore. There was development and modernisation within the city during the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar with the construction of administrative buildings, schools and religious buildings. During World War II, Johor Bahru was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese used the Istana Bukit Serene as their main base to launch a final attack on the last British stronghold in Singapore. After the war, Johor was administered as part of the Unfederated Malay States and Johor Bahru remained the capital. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Johor Bahru retained its status as state capital and was granted city status in 1994.Presently, the city is the main shopping attraction for tourists from Indonesia and Singapore as prices in the city are much lower than in neighbouring Singapore.