Pinang Peranakan Mansion

Located on Church Street, Georgetown, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion is a historical monument of an ambitious single man, known as the Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee.

The young Chung was born in China and later emigrated to Penang. He joined the Hai San secret society, which has the power over the mining manpower in the state of Perak. He went up the ranks and at the peak of his power, he was the superintendent of all the Chinese in Penang, which gives him the title Kapitan Cina.

During this time, Chung bought a piece of land along Church Street. He built a huge two-storey townhouse and a family temple on it. The property he built is known as “Hai Kee Chan”, which means Sea Remembrance Store. It was beautifully designed with Straits Eclectic style preferred by the Peranakan during his era. In 1895, the Hai Kee Chan was completed and the architectural elements of the building were a complete mix of both the East and the West. There was an open courtyard which is reminiscent of the Chinese townhouses. It was backed-up by fancy ironwork all the way from Glasgow. The anterooms were traditionally furnished and it was inhabited by Chung’s concubines.

View official website.

Image by Bernhard Huber.