The Heartland...

Penampang District, considered as the heartland, has a bustling township which is a suburb of Kota Kinabalu City, the State's capital.

The name Penampang originated from the name of a village in the district. The etymology of the name is a Kadazan word "pampang", meaning "big rock" derived from the abundance of rocks at the river nearby.

Now the name Penampang refers to the district while Donggongon is its township. The name of this town itself also had origin evolving from the word "tundoongon", meaning a resting area, related to its role as a stop-over for people from the hills who journeyed down to the coast for trade long ago before roads and means of transport were available.

The District is administered by a district council and a district office. It is deemed to be the heartland of the Kadazan-Dusun community, and also the main centre for their political and cultural development. The cultural complex of the community , especially the main building, KDCA Hall, is a famous venue for the community's traditional festivities, chief among them is the annual Lamai Kaamatan or 'Harvest Festival' which is the most important cultural event. The district also has the State's longest shopping Mall at 373 metres long - the 'MegaLONG'.

The proximity of this district from the capital City Kota Kinabalu is one of the factors that attract tourists especially for those interested in knowing more about the local cultures here.

There is abundance of interesting places to visit here. To name a few are: KDCA Cultural Complex, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Monsopiad Cultural Village, Inobong Station of the Crocker Range Park, Babagon Freshwater Aquaculture Station, Gunung Emas Highland Resorts, and the native open-air market (Tamu) at Donggongon Town every Thursday & Friday where the natives converge to buy and sell myriads of produce including rare items.