Sungai Lembing, 26 km northwest of Kuantan, was once the largest tin mine in Malaya and one of the few underground mines. In the 1930s, it employed 8,000 workers who were provided with a hospital, housing, and schools. Steamships sailed upstream from Kuantan to a riverside stop where a light railway continued the journey to Sungai Lembing. It was the most efficient and productive mine in Malaya from 1921 to 1941.