Penang Photo Gallery

The historic city of George Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. Being a crossroads for trading between the East and the West for over 500 years, today's George Town primarily dates from the British era in the late 18th century.

The Chowrasta Market is a typical local establishment with food stalls outside and also inside. Some of the shops sell tourist fare nowadays but it's as authentic to a local market as you can get in the historic centre.

These historic shophouses are plentiful in the core zone, a 109-hectare preserved area.

Khoo Kongsi was completed in 1906 and is a beautifully-decorated temple for the Khoo clan. Set behind the main street and accessible via an unsuspecting alley, the complex seems a bit low-profile given the clan's affluence.

Decorations aside, one of the side buildings show how the servants keep the whole operation running. The kitchen was fairly large and had a sky light to help ventilate it.

Around the corner, the Poh Hock Seah Twa Peh Kong Temple is also set back away from the main street and accessible via another low-profile alley.

Armenian Street

Lots of art adorne George Town's street corners. They even publish a guide to find them all.

120 Armenian Street was once the base for Chinese revolutionary leader Dr. Sun Yat-sen. It's a relatively quiet museum hidden from the main sights and you feel like time has stood still. The shophouses along that street were built by the Chinese at around 1880.

These traditional shophouses are long and narrow with a courtyard garden to increase lighting and improve ventilation.

At the back is a Nyonya kitchen, which still has a wood stove from the 1920's.

Grab a map, and explore the many shophouses, clan quarters, and temples the adorne the historic centre's streets.