Although it may be known as the ‘Town of Everlasting Peace’, Taiping grew to fame as a raffish tin mining center, though the importance of the industry has declined since a major slump in the 1980s. Some of the wealth from the tin mining was pumped into Taiping’s main attraction, the disused mining pools that were transformed in the late 19th century to become the stunning, carefully landscaped Lake Gardens. Taiping is also home to some impressive colonial architecture and the charming Ling Nam Temple, which is reputed to be the oldest Chinese temple in Perak. The more sinister history of Taiping emerges in the old prison, that was used by the Japanese in World War II, and the Allied War Cemetery, the last resting place of hundreds of victims of the Japanese invaders.