Insightful tour of prewar shophouses

By MANJIT KAUR, The Star Publications. Friday June 25, 2010
Photos by WAN MOHIZAN WAN HUSSEIN

THOSE keen to know more about pre-war historical shophouses should keep July 7 free for an opportunity to visit some shophouses that are usually not open to the public on normal days.

This rare opportunity to visit 10 such shophouses at the heritage enclave of George Town is organised in conjunction with the second anniversary of George Town being listed as the World Heritage City.

Organiser Tan Yeow Wooi, who owns a culture and heritage research studio, said the guided walking tour would start from two points - from Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) at Church Street that ends at Khoo Kongsi, and route B that starts from Khoo Kongsi and ends at the Kuan Yin Temple.

He said the tour would be conducted in English and Mandarin, adding that they would visit buildings located at Church Street, China Street, Armenian Street, Cannon Street and Chulia Lane among others.

“Among the buildings that we will visit are offices, residential homes, restaurants, museums and boutiques,” he said, adding that the tour was arranged for the people to appreciate the uniqueness of the shophouses.

Tan said people would also get to learn more about the basic architectural designs of the shophouses and their benefits.

Architectural appreciation: A photograph showing prewar shophouses No 6 and No 8 on Cannon Street, Penang, where participants would be visiting during the guided walking tour on July 7.

“The future of George Town as a heritage city depends on the correct conservation of the traditional features of the shophouses,” he told a press conference at his studio on China Street in Penang on Wednesday.

He said the tour from 9am to 12.30pm would cost RM10 per person. There would be 20 people per group. The registration closes on July 5.

Those who join the tour would also be given a A4 size flyer on the typology of the shophouses.

For details, call Fidel Ho at 012-4565867 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Another interesting event to be held on the same day and July 10 is a 45-minute tour to the historical Protestant cemetery at Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Penang Heritage Trust coordinator Lau Pei Ling said the tour would cost RM20 each, while for RM36, each participant would also get a limited edition set of six postcards of ‘Angles: Cemeteries in Penang’ by Sharon Cheah Ui-Hoon, a journalist with the Business Times Singapore.

For details, call PHT at 04-2642631 or The Gallery at 04-2643580. Closing date for registration is July 5.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/6/25/north/6532643&sec=north