The Chinese Hokkien community would be celebrating the birthday of the Jade Emperor, or Thnee Kong Seh, today at 12am — the ninth day of the Chinese lunar calendar. As the clock strikes 12 midnight, the celebration would be kicking off with prayers often accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and offerings to the Jade Emperor. For the local Hokkiens here, this day is in fact celebrated even more extravagantly than the first day of Chinese New Year and is also known as the Hokkien New Year.
Coastal walls of Esplanade.
Approximately 65,000 vehicles travel over the 13.5km Penang Bridge every day, making it the busiest bridge in the country. The bridge reportedly has a maximum capacity of 85,000 vehicles daily.
Held annually at the heritage area of George Town, the Chinese New Year festival and celebration in Penang usually attracts a huge turnout of visitors. Various cultural performances and events (such as lion dance, traditional opera, heritage show, etc) are being held at the festival.
Eng Loh is an old coffeeshop which also doubles as a budget hotel and is located along Church Street, George Town.
Wall mural at the Cheah Kongsi, Armenian Street in George Town.
Ah Quee Street (Lebuh Ah Quee), is an old street in George Town which is named after Kapitan China Chung Keng Kwee. An influential figure during his time, Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee (also known as ‘Ah Kwee’, hence the street name) presented this street to the local municipality after having demolished his shophouses to make way for the road.
A few murals can be found on the ancient walls of the street such as the popular one by Ernest Zachaveric as shown below;
Red lanterns adorning the streets in George Town in preparation for the upcoming week’s Chinese New Year celebration.
An art mural at Ernest Zacharevic‘s “Art is Rubbish/Rubbish is Art” exhibition in Hin Company Bus Depot, George Town.
Art is Rubbish/Rubbish is Art is an ongoing art exhibition displaying the fine works of Ernest Zacharevic (the artist who helped propelled Penang into a street art sensation). The exhibition is open to the public for free and will be running from 17 January until 14 February. This first solo exhibition by the artist will feature a number of his popular art pieces and will be held at the Hin Company Bus Depot, a former bus depot site in George Town which has been abandoned for a long time. For more info, please visit the Facebook page HERE.
For the Map/Location of the bus depot:
