Built in the 1880s, this famous indigo-blue Chinese Courtyard House in Georgetown was the residence of Cheong Fatt Tze, a prominent Chinese figure in the newly established Penang Straits Settlement during the 19th century. The mansion was built by master craftsmen brought in especially from China, who used their skills to fashion the mansion with 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 windows.
Rescued from the perils of development in the 1990s by a small group of Heritage preservationists led by Laurence Loh, the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion possesses splendid Chinese timber carvings, Gothic louvre windows, russet brick walls and porcelain cut & paste decorative shard works, art nouveau stained glass panels, Stoke-on-Trent floor tiles and Scottish cast iron work.Its layout is based on feng-shui principles, and filled with rare a collection of sculptures, carvings, tapestries and other antiques.
In 2000, the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion received the inaugural Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award, selected as the 'Most Excellent Project' in the Asia Pacific Rim following its RM7.6 milllion restoration works.
Key Tips
Today, visitors have the chance to stay at the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion as its doors are open to visitors who wish to experience and absorb the aura of 19th-century architecture. Tours of Cheong Fatt Tze mansion are available at 11.00 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays.
How to get there
By Foot or Taxi Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is on Lebuh Leith, in between Lebuh Chulia and Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.
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