Author: WiLL CWK

George Town Festival 2019: WHEN NIGHT FALLS

 

The first event of the 2019 George Town Festival is WHEN NIGHT FALLS, which is held at the Esplanade area from 13 to 14 July, 7pm to 11pm. The event is a series of performance and lights display, featuring the following:

  • Compagnie des Quidams from France performing FierS à Cheval
  • Moz Drums from France performing The Lighted Drummers
  • Teatro Pavana from The Netherlands performing Le Ballerine & Night Colors
  • FILAMEN, a local projection mapping community group which will showcase a variety of beautiful animated visuals onto the facade of the Penang Town Hall.

George Town Street View: MUNTRI STREET

Muntri Street is one of the old streets in George Town, and was named after a person called Ngah Ibrahim. Ngah Ibrahim was appointed the “Orang Kaya Mantri of Larut” in 1858, and the word Muntri was derived from Mantri or Menteri, a Malay word for a government Minister. Ngah Ibrahim was the administrator of the district of Larut in the late 1800s.

Leith Street: Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a historical and cultural rich building located along Leith Street in George Town, Penang. A winner of multiple historical and heritage awards including the “Most Excellent Project” Award at the UNESCO Heritage Awards 2000, the blue mansion is one of the most visited places and a definite tourist destination in Penang. The mansion is said to be one of the two of its kind outside China which also features architecture design of both Chinese and Western influences. The mansion was built by a famous Chinese merchant in 1880s named Cheong Fatt Tze and it has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases with 220 vernacular timber louvre windows.

During his time, Cheong Fatt Tze was also known as the “the Rockefeller of the East” and had helped a lot in building business and diplomatic relationship between the Chinese and Western governments. His legacy and contributions in the were so influential that during his death, top Chinese officials came all the way from China to attend his funeral while both the British and the Dutch authorities ordered flags to be flown at half mast in honour of him.

Featured in a number of movies (such as Crazy Rich Asians), the mansion now also houses a boutique hotel and a restaurant. It is also opens for public guided tour for a few slots of time of the day.

George Town Street View: A Historical Press Company

Kwong Wah Yit Poh Office Building

Founded and established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1910, Kwong Wah Yit Poh (or Kwong Wah Daily) is one of the oldest Chinese language newspapers in the country and is predominantly read by the Chinese community in the northern region of Malaysia.

George Town Street View: A Street Art at Ceylon Lane

Elephant’s Nest

Painting of elephants at the front facade of a townhouse located at Ceylon Lane (Lorong Ceylon), George Town. Named “Elephant’s Nest”, this townhouse has been converted into a small vacation rental house.