Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is one of Penang’s most well-known attractions. Built in a Teochew style, with the essence of traditional Hakka strongly intact, this mansion is built in an embellish edifice full of characters waiting to be explored by visitors.
It is nestled at 14 Leith Street and the whole structure of the building was formed in the 1880s. Cheong Fatt Tze is a Hakka merchant and he was responsible in the commission of the mansion’s construction. He was an affluent trader who left China as a penniless teenager. Soon after arriving Penang, he developed an extensive financial empire. His legacy spreads throughout South East of Asia by the end of 19th century.
During the time of construction, the modern Anglo-Indian designs were the architectural craze. However, Cheong Fatt Tze decided that he build his residence with a touch of traditional Chinese influence. The courtyard manor consists of 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases, 38 rooms and 220 timber frame windows.
Image by Mohd Fazlin Mohd Effendy Ooi.
Visiting Hours
Admission only with guided tours. Each tour takes about 45 minutes.
Tour Hours: 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, 3:30 pm.
Admission
Adult: RM 17.00.
Child: RM 8.50.
Hear From Others
Cheong Fatt Tze (aka “the Rockefeller of the East”) took a political appointment in Penang and built a home that continues to put all others in George Town to shame.
Elkgirl
Atlas Obscura
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion won UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Heritage Awardfor Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2000.
Jonathan Kandell
Architectural Digest
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