Penang Avatar Secret Garden 海珠園

Penang Avatar Secret Garden (14 November 2017)


Penang Avatar Secret Garden (GPS: 5.46381, 100.30778) is a nickname for a Chinese folk religion themed garden in Tanjong Tokong, Penang. The area is actually known as 海珠園 (Penang Hokkien: Hai1 Choo3 Hnui2), which translates as Sea Pearl Garden, as it is the compound of the Tanjong Tokong Tua Pek Kong temple, which is officially known as the Sea Pearl Tua Pek Kong Temple 海珠嶼大伯公廟.

The Penang Avatar Secret Garden is a beautification project undertaken by the Tua Pek Kong Temple, with sponsorship from the MBI Group. The project began in August 2016, and opened to the public in time for the 2017 Chinese New Year. It involves the landscaping of the hill slope and beach area. At-grade as well as elevated walkways were also built for visitors to take strolls in the area.

The Penang Avatar Secret Garden is particularly popular at nightfall, when the numerous lights are turned on. Trees in the garden are illuminated by strings of hanging lights while a section of the ground is carpeted with some 3,000 electronic tulip bulbs of various colours.

Being a Chinese folk religion themed garden, the Penang Avatar Secret Garden has a number of statues of Chinese folk deities. Perhaps the biggest is the 12-foot-tall statue of the seated Tua Pek Kong, the namesake deity of the temple. The statue is placed at the foot of the hill facing the sea. Also placed at the foot of the hillside are the statues of Sanxing, namely Fú, Lù and Shòu (福祿壽).

The beach in front of the temple has likewise been beautified, and has a number of sculptures. The main set of statues in this area is that of the Dragon King of the Four Seas (四海龍王, Penang Hokkien: See1 Hai1 Leong3 Ong2) and its warrior guards. Other sculptures on the beach include tortoises, dolphins and fish, while potted plants are shaped into the form of swans and hearts. The garden is open to the public and admission is free.

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Entrance to the hillside Penang Avatar Secret Garden is via a wooden gate. (14 November 2017)


Staircase going up to the Penang Avatar Secret Garden (14 November 2017)


The Penang Avatar Secret Garden is well tended. (14 November 2017)


At the top of the stairs, there is another wooden gate. (14 November 2017)


Beyond the wooden gate is a circular walkway. (14 November 2017)


Another flight of stairs leads up to a rather creepy statue of a multi-hooded serpent or naga. (14 November 2017)


Circular walkway. (14 November 2017)


Thousands of light-emitting electronic tulips carpet the grounds. (14 November 2017)


Light-emitting electronic tulips in blue, green yellow, red and white. (14 November 2017)


MBI Group, the sponsor of the beautification project, has its name spelled out in flowers. (14 November 2017)


Beach area with giant statue of Tua Pek Kong and pavilions. (14 November 2017)


The large statue of Tua Pek Kong on the beach. (14 November 2017)


Statues of Fu Lu Shou - from left to right, they comprise Shou 壽, Lu 禄 and Fu 福, representing Longevity, Status and Prosperity. This is the usual arrangement, as in Chinese they are sequenced from right to left. (14 November 2017)


The beach area is decorated with granite sculptures and shaped potted plants. (14 November 2017)


Statue of the Dragon King of the Four Seas and his sentinels. (14 November 2017)


The coastal watchtower has been painted over and restored. (14 November 2017)

Penang Avatar Secret Garden is on the Map of Tanjong Tokong

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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.

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