Penang Heritage Sites

Penang heritage sites are one of the most numerous in Malaysia. With the inscription of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2008, garnering much prestige for Penang, more attention will certainly be paid to its many heritage sites.

The heritage sites of Penang encompass buildings constructed by the British during the colonial era, clan temples of the various Chinese clan associations, religious structures including temples, mosques, churches and shrines, and other structures, including pre-war shophouses within the inner city.

In Penang Travel Tips, I am working to document all the heritage buildings of George Town, digging up old records and making documentation of the buildings and houses, so that their history will never be forgotten. I am encouraged to see more people beginning to appreciate heritage and are paying attention to conversation issues in inner cities. The list on this page represent just a small proportion of the heritage sites within George Town. I am still working to add more into the list. Check back often for new additions.

How are streets in Old George Town numbered

The streets in Old George Town (the original grid bounded by Beach Street, Light Street, Pitt Street and Chulia Street) are numbered from Beach Street towards Pitt Street. As a result, when these streets were extended, a decision was taken to name the extensions after the ghauts (the stone steps leading down the shore) they replaced. In that way, the numbering for the extended streets can start anew without having to revise the existing numbering. For example, the numbering of China Street and China Street Ghaut start from Beach Street going in opposite directions.

When describing the historic buildings in George Town, I try to number ensembles of buildings from left to right, as seen from the street, as far as possible. By reading the ascending or descending number, you will be able to determine the direction that the numbering was done. As this was decided after I started writing, some of the articles will not consistently follow the rule.

To help people get to know Penang heritage sites better, we have created the George Town Walking Tours, enabling visitors and anybody interested in Penang to walk the streets and get to know their history. These walking tours are provided free and can be used by tour guides as they are, or form a basis for their own itineraries of George Town.

Private Guided Tours of Penang

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.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.