Sungai Lembing, a somewhat "sleepy" town in Pahang, located about 42km from Kuantan, was, in the early 20th century, once known as the EL-Dorado of the East.

it was the place in the East where financial riches were made. It had then the richest deposits of tin ore in the world, second only to Bolivia. The tin areas in those days were mined underground via various levels of tunnels. And as the years went by eventually Sungai Lembinghad the largest, longest and deepest subterranean mine in the world. The total tunnel length is 322 km, with a depth of between 610m and 700m.

Sungai in Malay means "River", and Lembing is a "spear". it is said that the name came about when a group of men went hunting and successfully speared a deer. However with the spear still sticking to its body, the deer escaped into the river and disappeared.

It was only later when tin miners gravelling for tin in the river found the missing spear, and after this incident residents named the river and place as Sungai Lembing. Another legend has it that a village chief saw images of spears in the river and he decided to name the river as Sungai Lembing.

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