Lasem is a sub-district in Rembang, Central Java, Indonesia. This is the second largest city in Rembang Regency after the city of Rembang. It is located by the Pantura line, making this city a strategic place in the field of trade and services.
Lasem is also known as "small China" because it was the initial city of Chinese landings in Java and there are many Chinese villages scattered in the city of Lasem. In Lasem there are also gold-plated Buddha statues.
Historically, the culture in Lasem was a cultural mix of indigenous (Javanese), Chinese & Campa (brought by Admiral Cheng Ho forces), Arabs, and Dutch. We can find the concrete manifestation of this cultural mix up to this moment in the Lasem batik, the motifs of the "Three Countries" and "Four Countries".