Today the open-air amphitheater at Pandaan tells some of the stories of this glorious past, with performances against an impressive backdrop of distant volcanoes, capturing the spirit of the province's culture and scenery. East Java's claim to fame in modern history is its vanguard role in the struggle for independence against colonial forces in 1945.

Little of the Majapahit Empire's former glory still stands in East Java, however, with the exception of temple ruins and some archeological discoveries. Nevertheless, East Java has a variety of attractions, ranging from temple sites to beautiful, unspoiled beaches, awesome volcanoes, picturesque highland lakes, colorful marine gardens and fantastic wildlife reserves. Magnificent mountain scenery includes the crater and legendary sea of the rugged Ijen Plateau. The island of Madura, famous for its bull races, is also part of the province and has its own traditions and even a different language.

The provincial capital, Surabaya is second in size population, and commerce only to Jakarta. It is also the most industrialized province in the nation with a strong economy based on agriculture, fishery, oil industries, coffee, mangoes and apples.

The province is efficiently connected to the rest of Java by good roads, regular trains, and air service between Surabaya and other major cities in the country including Denpasar on Bali, which is only half an hour's flight away, and Mataram in Lombok.