Pontianak, Indonesia in the context of "Samarinda"

West Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan to the east, the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the north, and the Bangka Belitung Islands to the west and the Java Sea to the south. The province has an area of 147,037 km, and had a population of 4,395,983 at the 2010 Census and 5,414,390 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 5,623,328 (comprising 2,887,209 males and 2,736,119 females), and was projected to rise to 5,695,500 at mid 2024. Ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, and Madurese. The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the vast watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. The province shares land borders with Central Kalimantan to the southeast, East Kalimantan to the east, and the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the north.

West Kalimantan is nicknamed "The Province of a Thousand Rivers". The nickname references the geography of the province, which features hundreds of rivers of varying size, most of which are navigable. Several major rivers are still the main route for freight to the hinterland, despite road infrastructure now reaching most districts.

The Kapuas River (Old Indonesian spelling: Kapoeas River) is a river in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, at the geographic center of Maritime Southeast Asia. At 1,143 km (710 mi) in length, it is the longest river on the island of Borneo, the longest river in Indonesia and one of the world's longest island rivers. It originates in the Müller mountain range at the center of the island and flows west into the South China Sea creating an extended marshy delta. The delta is located west-southwest of Pontianak, the capital of the West Kalimantan province. This Kapuas River should be distinguished from another Kapuas, which starts on the other side of the same mountain range in central Borneo but flows to the south, merging with the Barito and discharging into the Java Sea.

The Pontianak Kadriyah Sultanate (Jawi: کسلطانن قدرية ڤنتيانق‎ ) was a Malay state that existed on the western coast of the island of Borneo from the late 18th century until its disestablishment in 1950. It was founded in 1771 by Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman Ibni Alhabib Husein bin Ahmad Alkadrie, a descendant of Husayn ibn Ali, in the area of the mouth of the triple junction of the small Kapuas River and the porcupine river which included a small area ceded by the Sultan of Banten to the Dutch VOC. He had two political marriages in Kalimantan, the first to the princess of the Mempawah Kingdom, Utin Chandramidi, and the second in 1768 to Ratu Syahranum (Ratoe Sarib Anom) of the Banjar Sultanate (daughter or brother of Sultan Saat/Sulaiman Saidullah I), earning him the title Pangeran Nur Alam.

The sultanate was located at the mouth of the Kapuas River in what is today the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, and the sultan's residential palace was situated in what later grew to become the modern-day Indonesian city of Pontianak.

The national emblem of Indonesia is called Garuda Pancasila. The main part is the Garuda with a heraldic shield on its chest and a scroll gripped by its legs. The shield's five emblems represent Pancasila, the five principles of Indonesia's national ideology. The Garuda claws gripping a white ribbon scroll inscribed with the national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika written in black text, which can be loosely translated as "Unity in Diversity". Garuda Pancasila was designed by Sultan Hamid II from Pontianak, supervised by Sukarno, and was adopted as the national emblem on 11 February 1950.