Tan Tong Tong 陳同同 Mandolin Man Mural

Tan Tong Tong Mural (30 August 2014)


Tan Tong Tong Mural is a mural commemorating Penang's famous Chinese mandolin man, the late Tan Tong Tong, who name also appeared as Tan Tan Thong. The mural graces the backwall of Delta office supplies company, and was sponsored Lions Club.

Perhaps the most famous itinerant bard to ply the streets of George Town, Tan Tong Tong gained wider following when he began appearing on radio. Tan had one-hour programs of old Hokkien songs on Redifusion Malaysia three times a week. He also had a half-hour programme on Radio Malaya.

In addition to strumming his Chinese mandolin, called Yueqin (月琴), Tan was also a fortune teller. This seemed to be the trade at that time, for Yueqin-strumming fortune tellers to ply their trade in Penang, while singing songs and rhymes in literary Hokkien (as opposed the colloquial Hokkien spoken in the streets).

Tan Tong Tong was certainly not the only itinerant bard on the streets of George Town. There were a few others, among them Lee Boon Lian, who also mentored another bard, Teoh Jin Hoe, one of the last mandolin men of the city. Another was Oh Bah, whose name means "dark boy" due to his dark complexion, who also sang to the accompaniment of the mandolin on Rediffision.

An article on Teoh Jin Hoe, one of the last Chinese mandolin men in Penang, appearing in the New Straits Times in 1987 (3 August 2014)

Getting there

The Tan Tong Tong Mural is located at the backlane of Delta Office. The backlane connects to Pitt Street, between the Bank Negara Malaysia building and Gnext AIA Building. Go down the lane and you will see the mural on the backwall, to your right.

Penang Street Art Main Page

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.

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.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

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.

Discover with Timothy

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.

Songs about Penang

About this website

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.