A mansion from 1900
Chinese-European style.
Pratyeka — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pratyeka — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bennylin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bennylin — CC BY-SA 4.0
A two-storey mansion in Chinese-European style in the old Kesawan quarter of central Medan, completed in 1900 for the merchant Tjong A Fie, one of the richest men in Sumatra in his day, who owned vast plantations, became leader of the city's Chinese community and helped build the railway from Medan to the port of Belawan. He is the same man who helped fund Medan's Grand Mosque. The mansion blends traditional Chinese architecture with colonial style: inner courtyards, colourful wooden doors and windows, patterned tile floors, and a ballroom upstairs. It displays the family's original furniture, photographs and documents, telling the story of the merchant and his ties with the Deli sultanate and Medan's diverse society. Entry is about thirty-five thousand rupiah per adult, usually with a guided tour, and it opens daily from nine to five. It stands on historic Kesawan street with its old colonial buildings, so make it a stop on an old-town walk. An hour is enough.
Chinese-European style.
Funder of the Grand Mosque and the railway.
The family's belongings as they were.
Jalan Ahmad Yani, the old Kesawan quarter
Kesawan, Old MedanMedan's oldest commercial quarter, which grew in the late nineteenth century whe2 minutes walk4.6
Gang Bengkok Old MosqueOne of Medan's oldest mosques, in a crooked lane of the old Kesawan quarter, hen4 minutes walk4.7
Tirtanadi Water TowerA towering iron water tower the Dutch built in 1908 to supply drinking water to 8 minutes walk4.7
Medan Old Post OfficeAn elegant colonial post office on Merdeka Square, the heart of the city, built 10 minutes walk3.8
Maimun PalaceThe palace of the Deli sultans and Medan's leading historic landmark, built by S15 minutes walk4.3Tjong A Fie was among Medan's wealthiest men and close to the Sultan of Deli, and helped fund the Grand Mosque, a sign of how the city's communities lived together then.