Julau is a town, and the capital of the Julau District (1703.39 square kilometres) in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district population (year 2020 census) is 15, 333. The population is dominated by Iban as well as Chinese especially the Fuzhou. Etymology History In 1853, James Brooke was able to take over Rajang River and its surrounding settlements from the Brunei Sultanate. A person from Xiamen named Limah Din (林结麟) was the first Chinese to arrive in Julau in 1929. He settled near the mouth of the Julau river and started acres of rubber plantations. He then used his home to start a trade business with the natives in Julau. In memory of his role in opening up Julau, a road is now named after him as Limah Din road. The Chinese started business activities in 1936 at the mouth of the Julau river between Julau and Nanga Meluan. In the same year, the Brooke government set up a fort at a hill in Meluan in order to defend itself from the Iban attacks led by Penghulu Asun. In 1938, the Brooke government formally put Julau under the jurisdiction of Ng Meluan. The trading of rubber sheets and Engkabang fruits (Shorea macrophylla) between the Iban and the Chinese was the major economic activity in Julau. During the Japanese occupation of Sarawak, there were some Iban people who took advantage of the power vacuum and went downriver and perform raiding activities. Therefore, the Chinese in Julau decided to cooperate with other more friendly Ibans to start patrolling and protecting the people. Besides, several Ibans decided to let the Chinese to open up their lands for the cultivation of rice, corn, and tobacco. In 1953, the Bao Hua cinema (宝华戏院）was opened. However, in 1980s, due to the wide of availability of television sets, the cinema was closed down. In 1954, there were 22 shophouses in Julau. However, in 1965, all the shophouses were burnt down in a fire; while the land where the shophouses were built are left abandoned today. In 1955, a hospital, a telephone department, and a village council was set up. In 1957, a dormitory for the civil servants was built. In 1957, the first row of five concrete shophouses were built. In the same year, the Julau village council started to install power station, electrical wires, and light bulbs, replacing oil lamps. Motorboat companies were set up to