Chew Jetty, or Sneah1 Chew3 Kio2 in Penang Hokkien, is the biggest of the waterfront settlements in George Town. It was created in the middle of the 19th Century, in a very different Penang from what it is today. The last community jetties, the Peng Aun and the Cap3 Snaeh3 Kio2, were only established in the 1960's. Each of the clan jetties has a small shrine to pay homage to the sea deities. Chew Jetty is the only clan jetty left that continues to have observe the once a year annual worship of its Temple Deity and the Jade Emperor (Thnee Kong, or "god of the skies")
Like gnarled fingers that claw the sea, clan jetties line the water front of Georgetown. Here, we find a community that has existed for over a hundred years, suspended in time above the tide lines. Today, however, encroaching development poses a formidable threat to the very existence of this unique waterborne community.
Visit to Chew Jetty
On March 20, 2004, members of AsiaExplorers paid a visit to Chew Jetty. It was part of our exploration to better appreciate the heritage sites of Penang. For the unfamiliar, the Clan Jetties consist of seven sets of wooden piers. They are home to seven clans who migrated from China: the Lims, Chews, Tans, Lees, Yeohs, Koays and one mixed jetty. The visit was hosted by Chew Siew Pheng, an AsiaExplorers member who happens to be a resident of her namesake jetty.
A boat at Chew Jetty, with the harbour behind it (14 March 2004)
Insight into the Clan Jetties
Dr Chan Lean Heng of the School of Social Studies did a study of the Clan Jetties. You can read her academic paper here, entitled Rediscovering Historic Communal Sites and Commemorating their hiStories - The Case of the Clan jetties.
An otter relaxing among the wrecks at Chew Jetty, with the Penang Port in the background. (14 March 2004)
Getting there
You can walk to Chew Jetty from the Weld Quay Ferry & Bus Terminal, a distance of 250 meters (800 ft). From the bus terminal, walk south along Pengkalan Weld until you reach Chew Jetty (with posted signboard) on your left.
All is quiet as night descends on Chew Jetty. (14 March 2004)
Members of AsiaExplorers on the outing to Chew Jetty. (14 March 2004)
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.
Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.
Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.