Dressed in a mesmerizing deep-sea blue, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang, Malaysia has seen numerous episodes of restorations since it was acquired in 1190. This shade of blue was coated on after restorations in the 1990s and stood out almost immediately, having won the UNESCO’s Most Excellent Project Asia Pacific Heritage Awards in the year 2000.

To get into the mansion, you have to be part of the guided tour which runs daily in English. The timings are 11am, 130pm and 3pm. There are no online reservations and you have to there personally to queue for the tickets to be part of the tour group.  Tours in other languages can be conducted on special request.

Admission Fee RM17 per pax. 

The mansion, as its name suggests, belongs to Hakka merchant Mr Cheong Fatt Tze and dated back to the 19th century after it was commissioned. Mr Cheong was a Jack of all trades. Wearing multiple hats from finance to livestock to textiles, Cheong himself was a visionary and brought in much trade and flourishing wealth for Penang during his period of stay from China. Despite the rise of western influences in architecture, Cheong wanted to build a Chinese-styled house and brought in craftsmen from China while importing materials all the way from as far as Scotland to translate into the mansion that you see today.

Main door

The living room is the first space that greets you when you whisked through —Victorian style glass stained windows, floor tiles and all.

Note the cast iron pillars reflected the intricate workmanship from Scotland and the very Victorian style elements which were all the rage back then.

There are many little, clever designs like how on side of mansion was raised and elevated to prevent flooding. Thus standing in the courtyard, you can actually notice one corner of the flooring is raised higher than the other sides. Very subtle differences of course and can possibly go unnoticed to the untrained eyes like you and I. 

This is part of the inner courtyard has now been converted into homestay and are mainly out-of-bound to tours to maintain privacy.

The tour leads you up to the 2nd level where there are more pinups on Cheong's contributions and his voyage from China to Penang.

Some of the costumes worn by his wives and concubines were on display as well.

Didn't take much photos of the interiors, so it's back to the exterior of the mansion.

Travelloka is your one-stop, comprehensive flights and accommodations portal in Southeast Asia; offering seamless booking experiences with competitive pricing and great discounts. With Southeast Asia regional call centres readily available, there is no need to worry about getting that assistance when needed. 

Check our my recommendation on hotel booking in Penang with Cititel Penang and  Book Cititel Penang online!

Connecting over at the other side- Bonton Shop.

Courtyard