Cheras

Cheras is a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. The township is located to the south-east of Kuala Lumpur. Cheras is also adjacent to Ampang to the north and Kajang to the south, both of which are major cities within the metropolitan area of Kuala Lumpur.

Origins:
Originally, Cheras is the name of an ancient Indian(Tamil) kingdom that roughly corresponds to today's Kerala region in southern India. Cheras kings were known as Keralaputras.

Cheras was known as "Jiu Lai"  in Cantonese, which referred to the area all the way from 3 1/2 Miles to 11 Miles towards Kajang. Back then there were 3 major divisions in Cheras: 5 1/2 Miles, which is known as Yulek, meaning "energized" (now officially known as Taman Cheras) and "Boton" meaning "treasure fortress" (now known as Taman Midah) and Cheras Baru was known as "6 Miles Village"

The suburb is part of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. This excludes a portion of the area known as Cheras, Selangor which resides in the state of Selangor.

Administration:
The suburb is part of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. This excludes a portion of the area known as Cheras, Selangor which resides in the state of Selangor.

Sports facilities:
Kuala Lumpur, of which Cheras is part of, played host to the 1995 SEA games and 1998 Commonwealth Games, and therefore houses many international standard sports facilities and stadiums, including the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium (located in Bandar Tun Razak), Cheras Badminton Stadium, Velodrome, and National Swimming Center (near Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium).

Hotels:
Cheras it is ideal for tourists and itinerant executives looking for accommodation that doesn't come with the urban bustle, but still accessible from the city centre.
Hotel Caliber,located along MRR2 or Middle Ring Road in Cheras, offers 132 rooms. It has a restaurant, KTV, conference room, Wi-Fi services, and health spa.

Transportation:
Cheras hosts several LRT stations. On the Star LRT Line, the Cheras station is located in Jalan Ikan Emas and Maluri Station is located in the busy road of Jalan Cheras, near Aeon Jaya Jusco Mall, Taman Maluri. The Bandar Tasik Selatan Rail interchange is also connected to the KLIA through the ERL Expressway, a 20 minute journey, and also connected to KTM Intercity Railway and the new Interstate bus station, Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).

There are also a number of buses that goes through Cheras. Major highways in Cheras include Jalan Cheras, Cheras-Kajang Highway, SMART tunnel Highway, MEX Highway (Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya), and KESAS Highway. Cheras also will hosts few MRT stations in the newly proposed Klang Valley MRT project which would kick start the ground work at July 2011. Among the stations proposed is Taman Pertama Station, Taman Midah Station, Cheras Leisure Mall Station, Plaza Phoenix Station, Taman Suntex Station, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn station and Taman Cuepacs. The proposed MRT line is named as MRT Line 1 (Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT Line).

Shopping:
Several local shopping centres were established in Cheras with varying success, including Cheras Leisure Mall, Connaught Market Centre (Giant Hypermarket), Carrefour Cheras, Jaya Jusco Taman Maluri, Viva Home, AEON Jusco Cheras Selatan, Cheras Sentral Shopping Mall and Hero Super Market (located at Bandar Sri Permaisuri). The most recent centre to open is Aeon Jusco Mahkota Cheras, situated in Mahkota Cheras and near Bandar Tun Hussein Onn. There are many shop houses, street markets and weekend markets all over the Cheras suburban estates. Cheras is also the home to the longest pasar malam (night market) in Malaysia which is located in Taman Connaught.

The shopping culture in Cheras changed when KL Downtown, a night bazaar opened on 24 June 2006. KL Downtown offers shopping through the wee hours of morning. It is located at a former carpark lot. It is a joint venture between Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur and Persatuan Pengasih Malaysia. 400 stalls were built, including an open stage for performance acts by Malaysian singers or arts group. It is open from 10pm - 4am everyday, and may exceeds up to 6am in the weekends.

Night activities at Bandar Tun Razak arose when several places were opened till midnight to boost its customers. Pusat Komuniti Bandar Tun Razak which is located at Taman Mulia the heart of Bandar Tun Razak serves food and has a night market.