Ipoh is located in the rich tin bearing valley of the Kinta river. It grew up as a mining town. For that reason, Ipoh's growth has stagnated ever since the development of the country and the closure of the tin mines, causing emigration to other parts of Malaysia, notably Kuala Lumpur to grow. In spite of this, Ipoh still remains one of Malaysia's largest cities, with a population of 529,906 (2000), placing it within the top 5 of Malaysia's biggest cities.
Ipoh is famous for its fruits (pomeloes, peanuts and durians from the Ipoh area are famous throughout Malaysia) and its cuisine. Ipoh natives claim that the water in the area, which is relatively hard due to Ipoh being located amongst a large karstic formation, makes the food especially tasty. Famous examples of Ipoh food are "tauge ayam", which consists of chicken meat, assorted chicken innards and beansprouts boiled in the abovementioned hard water and served with soy sauce and sesame oil; and "Ipoh Sar Hor Fun", which are rice noodles prepared in the hard water and served in a clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns and spring onions.
Famous attractions in Ipoh include Kellie's Castle, which is the deserted mansion of an eccentric English planter half an hour's drive from Ipoh city centre. Its main appeal lies in the belief that it is haunted and that secret passages leading to hidden chambers exist. Another sight worth seeing is the Sam Po Tong temple, which is a Chinese temple built within a gigantic limestone cave. Its sister temple, Perak Tong, has a steep, tall staircase in the interior of the cave rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted by a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings.
One of Ipoh's most famous natives is actress Dato' Michelle Yeoh.