The Hakka club
The miners' clubhouse since 1893.
Chriscwy5435 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · World of Travolution — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chriscwy5435 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Malaysia's first museum of the Hakka tin miners, in their old clubhouse at the edge of Ipoh's old town near the Kinta River. The club was founded in 1893 and rebuilt in 1929, then restored and opened as a museum in 2015, quickly becoming one of Ipoh's best-rated sights. The visit is a guided tour of about an hour through the building's three floors, among photographs, documents, tools and objects from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and murals by students of the Perak Institute of Art that take you inside a mine. The tour tells how tin built Ipoh and how hard the miners' lives were, without hiding the era's vices such as gambling and opium. Entry is free, with donations welcome at the end, but booking ahead is essential because places are limited; book on the Ipoh World website or in person. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday. Book a few days before your trip, especially for weekends. It is a few steps from Concubine Lane, so make it part of your old-town walk; it is the best place to understand the whole story of Ipoh.
The miners' clubhouse since 1893.
An hour of photos, tools and stories.
How the metal built Ipoh.
Jalan Bijeh Timah, old town near the Kinta River
Ipoh Old Town and Concubine LaneIpoh's historic heart, a town built on tin wealth in the late nineteenth and ear3 minutes walk
Panglima Kinta MosqueOne of Ipoh's oldest and loveliest mosques, built in 1898 by Dato' Panglima Kint5 minutes walk
Ipoh Railway StationOne of the loveliest railway stations in Asia, called the Taj Mahal of Ipoh by l8 minutes walkRarely: tours are limited and usually full. Book on the website a few days ahead, and if you are in town, ask in person about free places.