Jalan Ampang

A road sign of Jalan Ampang

Kuala Lumpur was founded in 1857 at the confluence of the Sungei Lumpur (now Gombak River) and the Klang River, which now houses the Kuala Lumpur Jamek Mosque. Before the arrival of the Chinese people for the tin mining purposes, Kuala Lumpur was occupied by ethnic Malay settlers most notably Javanese, Mandailings, Bugis and Rawa. Raja Abdullah, who is also the representative of the Sultan is the Klang Malay chieftain was opened the tin mines, thus contributing to the development of Kuala Lumpur. Ampang, the earliest areas in the Klang Valley, opened for tin mining.

Ampang Road, as it was called then, has existed since the 1880s. It is one of Kuala Lumpur's earliest roads, leading from the tin mining village of Ampang to the heart of the city along the Ampang River. The road was widened in 1888 by G.T. Tickell, the then chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board. In Kuala Lumpur, the street then led on to Ampang Street (now known as Leboh Ampang) to its Chinese shophouses and the Malay village of Kampung Rawa (today known as Kampung Baru).

The old Ampang Road also housed the Selangor Turf Club (present grounds of the Petronas Twin Towers) and the Griffin Inn (an old colonial bar and night-club). Adjoining and across from these properties, the houses and land were owned by Loke Chow Kit. The latter (owner of Chow Kit & Co, a department store) had his country-residence at the corner of Ampang Road and Treacher Road. Other notables who lived on Ampang Road were the families of Choo Kia Peng and Chan Chin Mun and The Bok and The Khoo families.

In Kuala Lumpur, the roads are maintained by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur or Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). In Selangor side, the roads are maintained by the Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) and Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ).

The road generally runs in an east–west direction, starting from the junction of Leboh Ampang and Jalan Gereja in the Masjid Jamek area. The road continues northeastward, passing Bukit Nanas on the north side of the hill and following the Klang River until Dang Wangi, where the river turns north. The road keeps running eastward past Wisma Denmark and the Petronas Twin Towers, past embassy row until it reaches the eastern KL suburb of Ampang.

• Ampang–Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway