If you have a burning curiosity as to what goes on behind the scenes of a wildly successful family business - in particular one that specialised in creating Indonesia’s most famous kretek cigarette. Housed in this 19th century Dutch style structure that doubles as a theatre, is a shrine to the the Sampoerna empire. In a classic rags to riches story, Seeng Teng, the main protagonist of the story was brought to East Java by his father who hailed from the Fujian village of An Xi, seeking a better life for his family. When his father life was tragically taken by illness, Seeng Teng was adopted into a chinese family. He worked hard as a as a railroad worker, hawking food to passengers. He then progressed to cycling up and down the streets selling charcoal, during which time he met his future wife, Siem Tjiang Nio. Together with his wife, they worked hard to build a future for themselves.

Seeng Teng found that his talents lay in blending Indonesian tobacco while working in a cigarette manufacturing company, eventually setting up his own stall. When a large amount of tobacco suddenly became available to Seeng Tee in 1916, all he needed was enough money to buy it - money that he thought he did not have. However, in a miracle moment, his wife revealed to him funds that she had collected by selling cakes outside their home every evening. From this moment on, success was in the stars for this humble family.

Today, visitors can come to observe an authentic cigarette production factory, with more than 400 skilled women hand-rolling cigarettes at a rate of more than 325 per hour. Get the chance to see the couple’s first stall, the bicycle which he used to sell charcoal, the original kebaya of his wife and equipment from the original factory. Be inspired by this success story that will leave you in awe of humankind’s incredible capability to persevere and take leaps of faith, regardless of your feelings towards its controversial product.