The indigo facade
A deep blue that makes it one of the town's most photographed buildings.
This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Feel free to use any of my images, but please mention me as the author and may send me a message. (สามารถใช้ภาพได้อิสระ แต่กรุณาใส่เครดิตผู้ถ่ายและอาจส่งข — CC BY 4.0 · Graystravels — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Graystravels — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CK Tan — CC BY 3.0
An unmistakable mansion painted deep indigo, built in the late nineteenth century by Cheong Fatt Tze, the merchant the Western press called the Rockefeller of the East. It has dozens of rooms, more than two hundred windows and five courtyards, and it marries traditional Chinese building rules and feng shui with English stained glass and Scottish cast iron. After decades of neglect a group of Penang residents rescued and restored it, and the restoration won UNESCO's Asia-Pacific heritage conservation award in 2000. Today it is a small boutique hotel, which is why non-guests can only enter on a guided tour. There are just two tours a day, at eleven in the morning and half past three in the afternoon, each about forty-five minutes and limited to twenty-four people, so they often sell out. Tickets are RM 25 for adults and half that for children under twelve; book online a few days ahead. The tour covers the reception hall, the famous courtyard and an exhibition upstairs on the life of the man who built it. It is one of the most photographed buildings in George Town even from outside, and its blue facade deserves a stop even if you have not booked a tour.
A deep blue that makes it one of the town's most photographed buildings.
Chinese tradition with English glass and Scottish iron.
A restoration honoured for heritage conservation in 2000.
14 Leith Street, George Town, Penang
Kapitan Keling MosqueFounded by Muslim traders from South India in the early nineteenth century, a fe8 minutes walk4.7
The Esplanade and Queen Victoria Memorial Clock TowerThe historic seafront square at the heart of George Town: a broad green field lo10 minutes walk
Acheen Street Mosque (Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh)One of Penang's oldest and most storied mosques, built in 1808 on land given by 10 minutes walk
Pinang Peranakan MansionA green mansion on Church Street built in the late nineteenth century by Chung K10 minutes walk4.6
Khoo KongsiYou enter from a narrow lane and suddenly face a wide stone square with the most10 minutes walk4.3Rarely. Tours are small and sell out, so booking online a few days ahead is the sure way. If you miss out, the blue facade from the street is still worth seeing.