Tan Kim Seng Bridge, Malacca

Tan Kim Seng Bridge (11 July 2005)


Tan Kim Seng Bridge (GPS: 2.19458, 102.24852) is the bridge across the Malacca River. It links Dutch Square with the Chinatown part of Malacca at Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street). It bears the name of the wealthy early 19th century Straits Chinese philantropist, Tan Kim Seng, who donated it to the town. Tan Kim Seng was a Hokkien who was born in Malacca in 1805. He amassed a fortune as a trader. In addition to the bridge, he also donated land for the establishment of the Chinese cemetery.

The Tan Kim Seng Bridge is located near the Tan Beng Swee Clocktower, which bears the name of his son. The clocktower was built by his grandson, Tan Jiak Kim, in memory of the latter's father.

In 1840, Tan Kim Seng moved to Singapore, where he continued to be extremely successful, and donated generously to Singapore society. He is remembered there with the Tan Kim Seng Fountain and Kim Seng Road. He founded the Chinese Free School, one of the better schools in Singapore in the early 19th century. Kim Seng Bridge of Singapore was also named after him.

The original Tan Kim Seng Bridge was destroyed by the British in 1942 to check the advance of Japanese troops at the onset of the Second World War. After the war, the British built the bridge that is still standing today.

Getting there

Tan Kim Seng Bridge links Jalan Hang Jebat to Dutch Square.

Tan Kim Seng Bridge is on the Map of Malacca

Discover Malacca; list of Bridges in Malacca and Bridges in Malaysia

Map of Roads in Malacca

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

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While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware.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.

To get to know me better, do follow me on Facebook!