Pinang Peranakan Mansion | Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion | Penang Heritage Building | Heritage Trail | Georgetown |
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Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
Penang's Foremost Restoration Project & Heritage Boutique Home-Stay
Next to St. Xavier's Institution School, along Leith Street, you will discover Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, a Chinese private residence which is said to be the best Chinese architecture around in the 18th and 19th century.
It belonged to Cheong Fatt Tze (1840 ~ 1917), a Hakka from China. He was a very powerful Nanyang industrialist back then and a first class Mandarin in the Manchu government later that he was also made Consul-General in Singapore and an economic advisor to the Empress Dowager.
A traditional paradigm Chinese courtyard house with 38 rooms, it has superb Feng Shui. Here you can view exquisite bedrooms, libraries, ceremonial halls, courtyards and big gardens. Also displayed are rare porcelain, sculptures, carving, tapestries, embroideries and antiques.
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Georgetown or Pinang Peranakan mansion Legendary in the annals of the history of Penang is the awe-inspiring Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Leith Street. Dubbed "La Maison Bleu", this flamboyant masterpiece of 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 windows took a very special man to create. Arriving penniless from Guandong province, China, to this part of the world at the age of 16, Cheong Fatt Tze grew to become one of the most historic and colourful personalities of the era, "One of China's last Mandarins and 1st capitalists", such was his aura and fame that Dutch & British authorizes ordered that flags be flown at half mast throughout their colonies when he passed away in 1916.
Of his vast empire, Cheing Fatt Tze chose Penang to build the most elaborate of his homes and to raise his sons. It is reputed to be only one of two such buildings of this size, outside China and certainly the most perfected. While the Mansion's floor plan is essentially Chinese, the overall effect is eclectic and typical of 19th Century Straits Settlements architecture. Gothic louvered windows, Chinese cut-&-paste porcelain work. Stoke-on-Trent floor tiles, Scottish cast iron works and Art Nouveau stained glass are among the features to be found in this inspired work of art. The aura and "chi" of the man pervades the entire edifice.
The dilapidated Mansion was acquired in 1990 with the prime intention of achieving a return to an authentic original form. Traditional materials and methods have been utilized and the end result has been nationally and internationally acclaimed. Winner of "Most Excellent Project" award at the UNESCO Heritage Awards 2000, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion has earned its place as one of Penang's foremost tourist destinations, a historical reminder of a past era and a man whose dream will live on in the majesty of his home.
Winner Awards:
Location: Leith Stree, Penang, Malaysia Guide Tour Hours: 11.00am and 3.00pm Admission fee: RM12 per Adult |
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