An old man pushing his cart along the old heritage streetscape of Beach Street, George Town.
Category: George Town / Island
Penang Isle: Tan Kongsi
The Tan clan members’ townhouses.
The Tan Kongsi (or also known as Eng Chuan Tong) is the clan temple of the local Chinese people with the surname Tan in Penang. The old temple is located within a small compound that can be accessed via Beach Street, George Town. The compound itself is called Seh Tan Court and is surrounded by a number of old heritage style townhouses belonging to the Tan clan members. It was revealed that the Tan clan association had its origin back in the early 1800s, making it one of the earliest Chinese clan that settled in Penang. Tan is also one of the most common Chinese surnames in Penang.
Tan Kongsi (view from Beach Street)
A Scene from Kimberley Street
A Scene from Beach Street
King Street: The Clan Houses
The various minor Chinese clan houses and associations in King Street, George Town.
Chin Si Thoong Soo which was built in 1914 and incorporating Cantonese Straits Eclectic style, is a Chin clan association building.
Chong San Wooi Koon is a Cantonese district association that represents the Cantonese clansmen from Guangdong Province in southern China.
Kar Yin Fee Kuan (Kar Yin Association) is a Hakka district association founded in early 1800s that represents the clansmen from the Kar Yin District of Guangdong Province in southern China.
Tseng Lung Fui Kon is another Hakka district association for Hakka people from the Tseng Lung district of Guangdong Province in southern China and is located next to Kar Yin Association.
Koo Saing Wooi Koon is a combined clan temple for people of the surname Lau, Kuan, Teoh and Teo.
Lee Sih Chong Soo (or also known as Lee Kongsi), is the clan association for the Chinese surnamed Lee.
The Ng Kongsi is a clan association for the Cantonese people surnamed Ng.
Poe Choo Seah is an association for Straits-born Chinese, the Baba Nyonyas which was built in early 1900s incorporating the Straits Eclectic style.
King Street View
Named after King George III, King Street (or Lebuh King) is an old historical road located within the central heritage zone of George Town. Being one of the original major roads in George Town during the British colonial era, King Street houses several old Cantonese style clan houses and temples as well as the Little India area (which is influenced with Anglo-Indian architecture style) located at the other end of the street.
Old Noordin Street View
Old Beach Street View
Penang Street Art (Lumut Lane Sculpture)
An art sculpture made of steel rods found at the back of an old shophouse’s wall at Lumut Lane, George Town. The sculpture’s caricature reveals that Lumut Lane is also the birthplace of novelist Ahmad Rashid Talu (born in 1889), who wrote the first Malay novel incorporating local settings and characters.
Old Shih Chung Branch School Building
The old and derelict building was once a large mansion of five-storeys tall built in the late 1880s at Northam Road, George Town. It is locally known as “Goh Chan Lau” or “five-storeys villa”, with a rich history from its origin till the current state it is now. The mansion was built by local tycoon Cheah Tek Soon as a private residence, and incorporated a mix of Asian and Western architecture styles. It later on became the site of the old Shih Chung Branch School but the school was also eventually relocated years ago.