Yau Tet Shin Mansion

Yau Tet Shin Mansion (GPS: 4.59296, 101.07451) is a turn-of-the-century mansion off Jalan Leong Boon Swee in Ipoh. It was built by Yau Tet Shin, a Chinese tin-miner and one of the richest man in Ipoh in the early 20th century. Today the mansion houses the State Medical & Health Office (Pejabat Pengarah Perubatan dan Kesihatan).

Yau Tet Shin was born in Guangdong, China, in 1859. He arrived in Malaya penniless and illiterate, and began working as a tin-mining coolie in Seremban. From there, he rose from rags to riches, eventually owning mines in Ampang and Kinta.

Yau Tet Shin was instrumental in the development of Ipoh New Town. This began in 1891, he obtained the rights from Dato Panglima Kinta Muhammad Yusuff to build a theatre on Leech Street (now called Jalan Bandar Timah). The site has been built over a few times and today a coffee shop occupies the old theatre building. In 1908, Yau Tet Shin began constructing town houses on the former paddy fields of the Dato Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab.

Yau Tet Shin passed away in 1913, at the age of only 54.

In 1962, a circular market was built along Cowan Street (now Jalan Raja Ekram) and was named the Yau Tet Shin Bazaar in his honour. Sadly the structure was demolished in 2002.

Yau Tet Shin Mansion is on the Map of Ipoh Old Town

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