Penang is an island rich of Chinese heritage. It is a place blessed with great history, a vast melting pot of cultures, and is probably best known for its mouthwatering street food. Penang has an array temples, ruins, museums, preserved forests, and beautiful beaches that make a trip here more than worthwhile.

History of Georgetown

With its colonial past, it’s hardly surprising that Penang features more than a few tourist worthy attractions. Listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2008, the capital, Georgetown is the embodiment of Penang, so much so that the two names are almost interchangeable. The conurbation holds most of the ‘Isle of the Betel Nut’s sightseeing spots from the Kek Lok Si Temple and Khoo Kongsi clan house to Fort Cornwallis and the Botanical Gardens.

Little is known of Penang’s origins – settlements were found as early as the 1700s but it was only in 1786 when Captain Francis Light took possession of the island on behalf of the East India Trading Company that the state truly began to flourish and soon afterwards he established Georgetown. Emigrants were allowed to claim as much land as they could clear, which along with its duty-free port, resulted in ensuring that the state attracted more and more settlers from all over Asia. The state went through a period where it operated a lucrative opium trade run by Chinese secret societies but British authorities brought it under control after large scale rioting broke out in 1867.

Seven months before Malaysia’s independence in 1957, Georgetown was awarded city status. The city continued to grow throughout the 1960s yet it lost its duty-free status to Langkawi in the 1980s. These days tourism plays a huge role in Penang’s economy, which has led to authorities taking huge steps to preserve its traditional heritage.

Georgetown is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after Britain's King George III. Georgetown is located on the orth-east corner of Penang Island. The inner city has a population of 720,202 and the metropolitan area population are 2,500,000 making second largest metropolitan area in Malaysia.

Little girls on a Bicycle

There is one of the famous mural arts that were drawn by Ernest Zacharevic. The artist himself has lead the trend of posing creatively along with his art pieces.

Bound Feet Shoes

In the old time, foot-binding would be carried out when the girl is between 5 to 8 years old by her mother or servant who is familiar with this practice. Bound feet was believed to be the symbol of beauty and more attractive to men. Women with bound feet would be seen as decent, those women without bound feet might face difficulties in finding a partner for marriage, and marriage was everything to women.

Bike Rental

People usually will rent a bike to spend the whole day for a tour in Georgetown, Penang. Bicycles offer inexpensive and fun ways of exploring the island.

Love Lane

This is one of a street at Love Land, Penang. Most of the shophouse at Love Land having and antique flavor and design.The exterior of the shoplots are very old and antique but the interior of the shoplots are very modern.It seems like I went back to 90th century.

The War Cenotaph

The War Cenotaph or War Memorial was dedicated to the brave soldiers who sacrificed themselves over a surprised German naval attack on Allied vessels off the harbor of Penang during the first World War.It was located at Padang Kota Lama.

The Memorial Clock Tower

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower was built by local Penang Millionaire to commemorate the sixtieth year of Queen’s Reign located at Lebuh Light, Penang.The tower was six feet tall which each foot for each year or queen reign.The tower leans to one side because of World War 2.